Dai Mord
by GuardianCentauri
Summary: My first Lord of the Rings fanfic. See what ya think.
1. My Arrival

Disclaimer: I don't own Lord of the Rings, nor any of its related material.  
  
This is my first fanfic for Lord of the Rings. Actually, this would be my first fanfic period. So anyways, enjoy the readin'!  
Also, I would like to thank Shea and Lauren for assisting me in Elven names and Sindarin translations.  
  
  
1. MY ARRIVAL  
  
  
Late at night, there was a rustling in the trees and a breeze started blowing, getting stronger and stronger. As soon as it had increased to about the power of a hurricane, a white light appeared in the center of it all, just above the tops of the trees, and started building in intensity. Soon everything in the small valley was illuminated as if under a gigantic spotlight with an equally gigantic fan to accompany it. Then the white light exploded in a shock wave which moved in a spherical pattern away from its source, slowly dissipating. The light and wind went with it and within a minute everything had returned to normal. I had arrived.  
  
I got up, dusting off my jean jacket. "Wow," I commented. "Now THAT was a firecracker." Noticing a twig that had gotten lodged in the folds of my jacket, I pulled at it. It wouldn't come loose. "Ugh," I muttered to myself, pulling harder. Then, with a ripping sound, it came off... along with a small piece of my jacket.  
  
"Damnit," I proclaimed to the forest while holding the twig with the piece of denim stuck to it up in the air as if it were a piece of evidence being shown in court. "This was my favourite jean jacket!" With a sigh, I threw down the twig and started walking slowly and aimlessly. After all, I had no idea where I had just sent myself.  
  
Looking around, I saw that a decent amount of damage had been done to the surrounding forest due to my arrival. Then I looked down at the twig and back up at the forest. "Okay, fine. Fair's fair."  
  
Then I remembered I'd brought my backpack with all my supplies, but it wasn't on my shoulders. I hastily started running all about the area, looking for it. Soon enough, I discovered that it had played a disappearing game on me and was hiding pretty darn well. While swearing quite a bit, I stared up into the trees to see if it had gotten caught in the upper branches, but it was dark out and I couldn't see anything clearly. To make matters worse, my backpack was black, so it was definitely not going to be easy to spot.  
  
"Great," I muttered. "Without my backpack, and thus the supplies, my odds of survival here have been rather diminished." I swore a few more times under my breath and gave up on it for now. Perhaps I'd return here when there was daylight.  
  
So then I decided I wasn't going to stick around here. Who knows how many inhabitants of this land had seen the explosion and were coming to investigate. I wasn't going to stay to greet them when they came. I knew nothing about them, and I wasn't going to take the chance that they could be cannibals. After all, I was completely unarmed. The only advantage I currently had was that I had somehow NOT broken both my legs after falling a good number of metres from above the ground. That meant I could still run. Hopefully, I was faster than anything else in this land that would try to pursue me. I found that prospect unlikely, which was basically why I wasn't going to stay.  
  
I quickly ambled into the thick of the forest as fast as I could (because although I hadn't broken them, my legs were indeed hurting just a little). Once in the forest, I suddenly realized just how dark it was in here. I started groping about while my eyes adjusted to the dim light. Once they had, I moved further in.  
  
I had been walking for quite some time when my alert ears started picking up movement somewhere far behind me. It wasn't very loud - I was thinking it was a rabbit or something about that size. I started looking back over my shoulder to see what it was. Every time I did, the noise stopped. That couldn't be good. Maybe this world had killer rabbits.  
  
I ran over to a thick trunked tree and ducked behind it. The noise stopped again and I heard nothing further. I sat down and leaned back against the tree, waiting for whatever it was to make a move. I sat there for about two minutes, not saying anything and keeping my breath low and quiet. I grew impatient at the end of that time, though, and peeked around the side of the tree. I would have been holding the kitchen knife I'd brought with me (I had nothing better, okay?), only it had been in my backpack, and you know the story there. Anyways, upon looking past the tree, I saw absolutely nothing but the trees swaying slightly in a cool breeze.  
  
"I hate forests, I hate them," I cursed quietly. "There are too many dark areas from which you could be attacked from, ambushed, mauled, cut up, beaten to death... What I'd give for a pair of infrared goggles right now-"  
  
I halted what I'd been saying, for I suddenly felt something cold and sharp pressed up against my neck.  
  
"Turn around," said a woman's voice, and then she added, "Slowly."  
  
I did so to find a lithe female with long ebony hair pointing an arrow straight at my neck. She seemed to be smirking slightly as if this were fairly amusing.  
  
"If you don't mind," I said with a smile, "I'd prefer it if you didn't point that thing at me." She paused for a moment with her own smile and then put down the arrow - but did not unload the bow. She first glanced at the sides of my head for some reason and then stared straight into my eyes. I looked back into hers. To my surprise, there was something... different about them... They had some sort of gleam in them, and they were deep and understanding, as if she were full of wisdom gained by age. That seemed to contradict her physical appearance, but I already knew appearances could be deceiving and only the eyes could truly relay accurate information about a person's soul.  
  
"You're a man," the woman commented as if that were extremely important.  
  
"Well yeah, I guess," I replied, although I could tell by the expression on her face she hadn't been looking for a confirmation of that fact.  
  
"Tell me, what is your business in these parts?" she asked.  
  
"Well I came here looking for two of my friends who disappeared a while ago," I told her. I stood up just then, because sitting had given me a really bad cramp by that point. I didn't care if she was going to shoot me with the arrow for it; nothing gets between me and stretching my legs.  
  
Anyways, she had been kneeling down to speak to me as I had sat there. As a result, her long hair had hung down and covered the sides of her head. As soon as I stood up, she got up quickly and stepped back a little.  
Her hair moved back, and I saw her ears for the first time. They were pointed.  
  
"Uh..." I stammered, "You're an elf?"  
  
"Last time I checked," she replied with a smirk.  
  
"Oh," I said. I had a pretty good idea where I was now, but I didn't want to sound like a fool in case I was wrong. "Where am I?"  
  
She only seemed to find my new question even more amusing than the last. "Why? Are you lost?"  
  
"More like collecting my bearings and asking for directions," I responded.  
  
"Imagine that," she commented with a slight chuckle. "A man who actually takes the time to ask for directions."  
  
"Huh," I thought to myself, "I guess some stereotypes are common no matter where you go." In any case, I ignored her comment and repeated my question of where I was.  
  
She paused for a few seconds before replying, "You're not far from Imladris, or as you probably know it, Rivendell." When she said Imladris, there was almost a musical quality to her voice. It sounded sweet, yet strong. I liked it. In addition, the mentioning of those names quickly confirmed where I was. I had been transported to Middle Earth.  
  
A cold breeze suddenly blew through the forest, and I found myself pulling my jean jacket tighter around myself. Yet I could have sworn I caught a glimpse of the elf saying something real quick in that musical voice of hers right before the gust of wind came along.  
  
"Um..." I said, "You guys wouldn't mind if I spent the night there, would you?"  
  
There was a pleased look on her face as if that's what she had been hoping I would say. I couldn't help but wonder if she had summoned the cold wind to help me make up my mind.  
  
"Not at all," she replied with a smile. "Right this way." She put away her arrow, swung the bow onto her shoulder, and led the way.  
  
"Mischievous little elf," I thought as I followed her to the elves' humble abode. 


	2. Meeting with Elrond

Disclaimer: I don't own Lord of the Rings, nor any of its related material.  
  
This is my first fanfic for Lord of the Rings. Actually, this would be my first fanfic period. So anyways, enjoy the readin'!  
Also, I would like to thank Shea and Lauren for assisting me in Elven names and Sindarin translations.  
  
  
2. MEETING WITH ELROND  
  
  
It wasn't until morning that I actually met everyone. As it turns out, the elf I had met yesterday in the woods was Arwen herself. She had left again early this morning, though, and I hadn't had an opportunity to thank her for all the assistance she gave me last night.  
  
I was having breakfast (which was an interesting assortment of things) on the balcony of a beautiful white building overlooking the forest below when Elrond walked in.  
  
"Morning," I said, putting down a piece of bread I had been about to bite into.  
  
"Good morning," he greeted me, pulling out a chair on the other side of the table and sitting down in it to face me. He had a grave look on his face. Of course, I couldn't say that was unusual for Elrond if the books are any indication.  
  
I picked up an opaque pitcher of a warm liquid I had been drinking and indicated it, saying, "Tea? I mean, I think it's tea... It kinda tastes like tea."  
  
Elrond smiled slightly, waved his hand, and replied, "No thank you."  
  
I shrugged and set the pitcher back down on the table. For a few seconds, we were both silent, and only the sound of a waterfall and the occasional call of a bird could be heard.  
  
"Well, I suppose I should start off by introducing myself," Elrond finally said. "I am Elrond, leader of the House of Elrond."  
  
I nodded and stated who I was. "I'm James Ferraro, and I bring down the house." I gave a little smile, but Elrond just stared at me blankly. I stuck out my hand above the table to give him a handshake, but he just started to stare at my hand blankly.  
  
After a few seconds, Elrond grasped the idea of what I was trying to do somewhat, and he took my hand with both of his and said, "Pleased to meet you, Sir Ferraro."  
  
"Sir Ferraro," I thought. "You know, that has a nice ring to it." To Elrond, I just nodded my head slightly to acknowledge what he said, and he let go of my hand.  
  
"Okay," Elrond began, obviously getting to the heart of the matter, "First, I wanted to ask whether you had anything to do with the odd phenomenon that occurred late last night just to the west of here."  
  
I turned to the side for a moment, trying to determine what he was talking about. Suddenly, the explosion of my portal popped into my mind. The one that had done significant damage to the forest. Oops.  
  
"Uh," I responded slowly, "I... might... have been the... indirect... cause of that."  
  
"Ah," Elrond replied, leaning back in his chair. "So you're a wizard?"  
  
"Um, no," I told him. I started to find the utensils lying on the table to actually be quite interesting.  
  
"Well surely you must have used some form of magic to produce such a powerful force," he continued.  
  
"Kinda," I replied. At his quizzical look, I explained it fully. "You see, I used this ancient artifact called the Fire Relic to send me from my world to wherever my friends were so I could find them and bring them home."  
  
Elrond seemed disturbed at the mentioning of the Fire Relic and looked straight at me. "Do you have this device with you?"  
  
"No," I informed him. "It's back in my world. I guess it didn't come with me, as planned. Either that or it was destroyed in the process of getting me here."  
  
Elrond's eyes seemed to bulge at the possibility of its destruction.  
  
I quickly shook my head. "But that's probably not the case. It's probably just fine... at home..."  
  
My newest comment didn't seem to ease Elrond's inner tension. "Well," he stated, "do you at least know how to summon it here?"  
  
I grimaced and replied, "No."  
  
"Let me guess," Elrond said with a frown. "You found this item and used it without knowing the full extent of its power or how to properly utilise it."  
  
I felt really stupid inwardly and replied, "Yes."  
  
Elrond continued, "And you came all this way to search for two human girls, is that correct?"  
  
"Yes," I said monotonously, and then exclaimed, "Hey, wait! How'd you know that?"  
  
He smiled slightly and told me my friends, Shea and Lauren, had been found by the elves and were also staying in Rivendell. I almost jumped out of my seat at the news but fortunately restrained from doing so.  
  
"That's good news," I observed with a smile.  
  
"Yes," Elrond agreed, but he lost the smile soon enough. "I suppose you're from the land of Illinois as well?"  
  
"Oh no," I replied, shaking my head. "I'm from Alberta."  
  
"Alberta," Elrond repeated slowly to get the pronunciation right. "Is that near Illinois?"  
  
"Well, they certainly don't border each other," I told him, "but they're both on the same continent."  
  
"I see," Elrond said, nodding. "Are your countries on good terms with each other?"  
  
I thought about that for a moment. "Well, theirs has put some rather strict tariffs on our wood products," I said, "but other than that, relations are good."  
  
"I see," Elrond repeated yet again.  
  
"Um, where are they?" I asked. "May I see them?"  
  
My question seemed to drag Elrond out of his thoughts. "Hmm? Oh, yes, of course. They're training in the courtyard with Legolas right this very moment."  
  
"Then if you'll excuse me," I stated as I got up from my chair.  
  
Elrond also got up to be polite, nodded, and said, "Of course."  
  
I immediately left Elrond to his thoughts and worries while heading off to the courtyard, wherever that was. 


	3. A Little Archery Practice

Disclaimer: I don't own Lord of the Rings, nor any of its related material.  
  
This is my first fanfic for Lord of the Rings. Actually, this would be my first fanfic period. So anyways, enjoy the readin'!  
Also, I would like to thank Shea and Lauren for assisting me in Elven names and Sindarin translations.  
  
  
3. A LITTLE ARCHERY PRACTICE  
  
  
It took me quite a while, but I eventually found the courtyard. There was the sound of whizzing arrows and the twang of bows as I entered it.  
  
"That's good, that's good," a voice was saying, "but try to pull the string back farther for more power while not losing your aim."  
  
I walked over to the group of three people, the tallest being the guy with long blonde hair and pointy ears. They all had their backs to me.  
  
I tried to sneak up on them, but Legolas must have heard the slight crunching of gravel, for he turned around to see who was coming long before I got close. Of course, as soon as he turned to look, so did Shea and Lauren.  
  
"Hey," I said, having thought of nothing better to say.  
  
Shea and Lauren just stared at me, blinking. In her shock, Shea lost her grip on the bow she was holding, and its arrow zipped away high over the courtyard's left wall. Legolas' ears heard that sound, too, for he immediately twirled his head around just in time to see the arrow disappear out of sight beyond the courtyard wall. When he finally turned back around, he had a strained expression on his face.  
  
"James!" Shea exclaimed, brushing past Legolas as she ran towards me. She then gave me a big hug which caused me to falter slightly, and I had to step back a little to regain my balance.  
  
"Good to see you too," I told her in a thin voice. "Um... Could you maybe squeeze just a little less?" I heard odd sounds coming from the others, and I whipped up my head to see Lauren covering her mouth to try and smother her laughter.  
  
"Yeah, yeah," I said with slit eyes as Shea removed herself from me to turn around and see what all the commotion was about. "Laugh it up."  
  
"Where in Middle Earth did you get such outlandish clothes?" Legolas asked abruptly. Then he remembered his manners and added, "If you don't mind my asking."  
  
"Not at all," I replied with a grin. "Hudson's Bay Company. Great place to shop."  
  
"Ah," Legolas said while nodding, pretending to understand.  
  
"So how'd you get here?" Lauren asked.  
  
"I utilised the Fire Relic to teleport here," I answered, still grinning. "And you?"  
  
"Not quite sure," Lauren replied. "One minute I was in Illinois. The next, I wasn't."  
  
"Are you sure you didn't get sucked into a tornado?" I asked jokingly.  
  
Lauren didn't get that at first, but she finally said with a grin of her own, "No, I don't live in Kansas, and I don't own a dog called Toto."  
  
"What's the Fire Relic?" Shea asked with a tone of curiosity in her voice.  
  
"Oh, just a fancy little toy I happened to find," I told her, knowing that if Elrond heard me say that, he'd probably have a heart attack.  
  
"How are your archery skills?" Legolas asked me suddenly, holding up a bow and arrow.  
  
"Not too frosty," I responded. "And you?" Legolas seemed confused by my response, so I clarified it for him. "Not too bad."  
  
"Ah," he said. "Will you join us then?"  
  
"Uh oh," I thought. "When I said, 'Not too bad', I meant, 'Not too bad when compared to a bunch of five year old children doing archery, all of them blind'."  
  
"Yes!" cried Shea. "Please do!"  
  
"Well all right," I managed to say. "I suppose I have time."  
  
I walked over with Legolas and the others to the spot directly across from the targets, which were a good fifty metres away.  
  
"Whoa," I thought, taking a gulp. "That's a little farther than we ever did in high school."  
  
Legolas handed me a bow and an arrow then, and I got into position. I started pulling the bow back when Legolas came over to my side and pointed out that I had the cock in the wrong spot.  
  
"Oh, right," I said. "Such a simple mistake that can be so easily overlooked. Okay, here we go now." I took aim and pulled back the string real far, then let go.  
  
The arrow flew about twenty metres before flopping into the grass. Not enough power, obviously.  
  
"Okay, I'm done with the warm up" I proclaimed, "Time to make the real one. It's bad luck to hit the target on the first shot, you know."  
  
Legolas looked to me and nodded slightly. If he was amused by this, he didn't show it. He then picked up another arrow and gave it to me. I bent back the bow as far as I could at the risk of breaking either the string or the bow itself and let 'er rip.  
  
The arrow sailed through the air into the trees beyond the courtyard, missing the target by more than a bit. We all just stood there staring at the spot where the arrow had gone to like a bunch of golfers on the fairway quietly watching the ball fly through the air. Well, my shot had definitely gone into the rough.  
  
"Not bad," Legolas stated after a while, still looking into the trees.  
  
"Mhmm," I agreed. "Of course, I meant to aim it into the trees. These targets are so boring."  
  
Legolas finally swung his head around to look at me. He had a huge grin on his face, and upon seeing it, I could not help but start laughing at my poor archery skills. He chuckled a little too.  
  
"Don't worry," he said. "We'll work on that."  
  
Once that had been said, he loaded his own bow with an arrow, took aim, and let it go with a twang that gave a nice humming sound for several seconds until fading away. The arrow hit the bull's eye and buried itself in the target.  
  
"Yay!" Shea exclaimed with both hands in the air.  
  
"You're a regular Robin Hood," I commented with a congratulatory smile.  
  
Legolas smiled back sincerely. Despite not knowing who Robin Hood was, he could see in my eyes that it was a compliment.  
  
For the rest of the morning, we practiced our archery skills, although I'd say Legolas didn't have much to improve on. On the other hand, there were the three of us. Shea and Lauren made some pretty good shots. Mine got only marginally better.  
  
"Okay, it's clean up time," Legolas announced once we'd run out of arrows. Then he turned to me with a grin. "James, you go round behind the courtyard and pick up all of yours." I gave him a sly look and ran off to do so. 


	4. The Sword

Disclaimer: I don't own Lord of the Rings, nor any of its related material.  
  
This is my first fanfic for Lord of the Rings. Actually, this would be my first fanfic period. So anyways, enjoy the readin'!  
Also, I would like to thank Shea and Lauren for assisting me in Elven names and Sindarin translations.  
  
  
4. THE SWORD  
  
  
We all had lunch together with Legolas and many of the other elves, but Elrond wasn't there for some reason. I couldn't help but wonder where he was. Had I truly worried him by mentioning the Fire Relic? I hoped I hadn't done anything truly catastrophic to this world. After all, they had all been so nice to my friends and I. They had been our gracious hosts, giving us food and shelter, and I didn't want to be the cause of trouble for them.  
  
In the background, I could hear Shea and Lauren asking Legolas questions about whether this or that was true, and asking him to tell them tales of his great experiences in the land. Legolas seemed most happy to oblige, and he told them of encounters with whole contingents of orcs, fighting giants, trolls, and other huge and hideous beasts. Although they say Elrond is the best storyteller around, I'd say Legolas was pretty good at it too. He descriptively told of every swing of the sword he made, every shot of the bow and arrow, and every duck, jump, and run to avoid getting creamed by all his foes. The girls' faces were lit up with delight, and I think Legolas was enjoying the narration of his tales too. I smiled slightly to see everyone having such a good time. Somehow, though, I couldn't shake the feeling that I had done something wrong, and as a result, wasn't in the spirit to join their conversation. Somehow, some way, I felt I must make up for my blunder with the Fire Relic and repay the elves in some grandiose way.  
  
Legolas brought me out of my mulling suddenly when he asked if I would like some more bread, lifting the basket of it up. I replied with a no and a shake of my head, but I thanked him for the offer. He shrugged slightly and put the basket back down. Almost immediately after, Shea started asking more questions, and he responded with a smile on his face. I could see in his eyes, though, that he knew I was worried about something. I had to admire that trait in the elves. They were very perceptive, and it was hard to hide anything from them.  
  
When lunch finished, Legolas told us all he'd give us some sword training this afternoon. He told Shea and Lauren he'd be right down as soon as he'd cleaned up.  
  
"Oh, we'll help you with the mess," Shea promptly stated and started picking up bowls and stacking them up to carry to the kitchen.  
  
"Yeah," Lauren quipped, and she started a similar process.  
  
"No, that's all right," Legolas replied rather fast, putting a hand on Shea's shoulder. "This won't take long anyways. Besides, you're our guests, and we can't have our guests scrubbing the dishes."  
  
After a moment's hesitation, Shea and Lauren agreed and went down to the courtyard with two other elves.  
  
I was about to leave myself when Legolas said, "Wait." I did so until he had finished carrying all the dishes away. He then returned and indicated I sit down again. Once we were both seated at the table, he began.  
  
"It's not your fault," he told me. "Elrond informed me of the Fire Relic and how it brought you here, but that's not what's bothering him so much."  
  
"Then what is it?" I questioned.  
  
Legolas stared at the table, then out to the beautiful blue and cloudless sky, the lush forests, the rushing waterfalls full of tranquil water, and the ever quiet yet dominating mountains. He gave a deep sigh, still gazing at the landscape, and said, "The House of Elrond has been kept safe for many, many years because its location is a secret. This paradise, our home, will not stay that way forever, though. The threat of the orcs advances, and there may come a day when they discover Rivendell." He turned to look at me, continuing, "Elrond is especially concerned for your safety, the three of you. He does not want any of you to get hurt as a result of our ongoing conflict with the orcs, and neither do I. So please believe me when I say none of this is your fault."  
  
I nodded slowly, but I think he could see that I wasn't entirely convinced. Legolas stared down at the table and seemed to be pondering something for a moment. Then he got up and motioned for me to follow him. He led me down a flight of stairs into a large library. There were thousands of books, scrolls, and collections of parchments lining the walls on huge wooden shelves. On the tables lay many objects that no doubt were filled with the elves' magic. I couldn't help but stare at the massive amounts of information which must reside here.  
  
Upon seeing the look of wonder on my face, Legolas said, "Elrond has tried very hard to collect and preserve the writings and crafts of our people throughout the ages. So much has been lost to war." There was a sad look in his eyes, and I nodded understandingly.  
  
Legolas brought me to a table across the room with a small casket lying in the middle. He opened it and pulled out a short sword. After a slight pause, he handed it to me. I accepted it, and the moment I held it, I realized how remarkably light it was. The blade was a gleaming silver, and there were lines of runes engraved on the part of the blade closest to the hilt.  
  
"What do they say?" I asked, looking up to Legolas.  
  
"It is written in an ancient tongue that only Elrond can read," Legolas answered. "He says the sword was made by the most talented elven smiths and a powerful enchantment was put on it by an elven priestess thousands of years ago. The writing itself claims the user becomes twice as strong when bearing the sword and gains an agility which rivals only the quickest of animals. It has been useless to us, though, for the enchantment was designed to take effect only when the hands of men hold this sword."  
  
"Oh," I said with a look of awe.  
  
The hilt itself was gold coloured and had intricate designs of leaves on it. Up until now, I had been resting the sword on the palms of my hands. Now I reached around with my right hand and held it by the hilt. I smiled slightly, again amazed by how light it was, when suddenly the hilt started to transform itself. Instantly, I had the thought that I should let go of it before it turned me into a toad or something, but to my horror, I couldn't seem to let go of it. Even Legolas seemed shocked. He hadn't expected this to happen. As we both watched, the leaves turned into small wings which spread out to the sides of the hilt, and the engraving of a drake in flight took shape in the middle of the hilt. The same was true for the other side. After that, nothing more happened.  
  
We were both speechless for whole minutes until I broke the silence. "Well..." I began and let my voice trail off, not knowing what to say next.  
  
"This is certainly an interesting development," a voice commented from somewhere in the library.  
  
We spun around to see Elrond standing on the stairway, staring at the sword and I. He walked down the rest of the steps and walked over to where we stood. He kept his eyes on the sword the whole time, which was now reflecting so much light in the room that it almost seemed to be glowing. In addition, there was a unique energy flowing through me, and I felt like I could jump a ten foot wall or slice an entire troll in half. There was a growing desire in me to use this sword in battle.  
  
"Forgive me," Legolas quickly said to Elrond. "It was not my place to show him this sword. I did not mean to-"  
  
"Think nothing of it," Elrond interrupted, still staring at the shining weapon in my hand. "I had Aragorn try this sword years ago. He said he felt much stronger, but there was never any reaction like this."  
  
The sword was brighter than ever. Not only did it get brighter, but everything else in the room seemed to get dimmer. Somehow, I don't think it was just my eyes adapting to the bright light. Also, there was now a slight humming noise, as if there were mosquito in the room, but with a sweeter and much more pleasing sound.  
  
"Perhaps I should put it down," I suggested suddenly. I had the fear it might blow off the roof of the building if allowed to power up fully. Besides, it was doing something to me that felt really good, but I wasn't sure if that was actually such a good thing. The blood in my body was warm and churning around at a quickened pace. I felt like I could charge an entire army and cut down the rows of armoured soldiers like a knife through butter.  
  
"Yes, I think that would be a good idea," Elrond replied almost right away, although his response had seemed to take forever in my warped state.  
  
Surprisingly, I found it very difficult to let go of the sword and put it on the table. Finally, I pried my fingers away, and the sword hit the table with a loud clang. Without the sword in my hand, I suddenly felt drained and lifeless. There was a compulsion within me to reach out and grab the sword again.  
  
"I haven't seen such a force since the Rings of Power," Elrond stated. "I don't understand what the difference between you and Aragorn was, though. Why couldn't he tap into the full extent of its power?" Elrond suddenly turned on me and looked me over carefully, as if checking to make sure that I was indeed a man.  
  
"Perhaps it is because he comes from another world," Legolas speculated, although the look on his face showed he really had no clue what the answer was.  
  
"Perhaps," Elrond replied, turning his attention back to the sword. He leaned down to scrutinize it. "The design has changed if I recall correctly."  
  
"Yes," I confirmed while rubbing my wrists. I still felt drained from the experience, and my legs and arms felt like they were made of lead.  
  
Elrond frowned. "This appears to be a dragon."  
  
"It's a drake," I responded swiftly. Elrond and Legolas swung their heads in my direction after what I said.  
  
With a frown on his face, Elrond stood up to peer at me inquisitively. "Yes," he said slowly, "I do believe it is a drake."  
  
"Aren't they one and the same?" Legolas asked Elrond.  
  
"Not always," Elrond replied, still staring at me. "They vary in shape, size, and behaviour depending on the region. In general, though, they remain in the north."  
  
"Is the appearance of the drake significant?" I asked suddenly.  
  
Elrond looked like he'd been slapped in the face by my question. He replied a few seconds later, "I don't know."  
  
There was silence for a good portion of a minute (though it felt much longer). I finally decided to take control of the situation.  
  
"Look, I'm no expert in these matters," I stated, "but perhaps the sword should be put away until we know more about it. Legolas, give me a regular sword for the time being."  
  
Elrond nodded and proceeded to carefully lay the sword back in its casket. Legolas walked over to a corner of the room and came back with another sword in a thick leather sheath. This one turned out to be entirely silver with one large blue sapphire embedded in each side of the hilt. Fortunately, this sword did not have the same effect when brought into contact with my hand. After putting away the sword in question, Elrond came back to Legolas and I.  
  
"This incident must remain between the three of us until I have looked into this further," Elrond told us, although it was more a command than a suggestion. We all agreed on this.  
  
"Well," I said to Legolas, "we'd better get to the courtyard, or Shea and Lauren are going to question your ability to wash dishes."  
  
Legolas gave me a slight grin, and we each said good day to Elrond before leaving.  
  
Once we were out of the building, I asked Legolas why he hadn't had either Shea or Lauren try the sword before now. He seemed to think that one over thoroughly and couldn't give me a definite answer.  
  
"I suppose I hadn't thought of it," he finally told me. 


	5. Supper in Rivendell

Disclaimer: I don't own Lord of the Rings, nor any of its related material.  
  
This is my first fanfic for Lord of the Rings. Actually, this would be my first fanfic period. So anyways, enjoy the readin'!  
Also, I would like to thank Shea and Lauren for assisting me in Elven names and Sindarin translations.  
  
  
5. SUPPER IN RIVENDELL  
  
  
For the rest of that afternoon, Legolas and a few other elves taught us all the basics of swordsmanship. Of course, Shea and Lauren already had the advantage of several days' training (from before I came), and they handled the blades much better than I did. Thankfully, though, I seemed to be doing better with my sword than I had with the bow and arrow this morning. The hours seemed to pass by rather quickly, and the sun was soon low in the western sky. I stopped practicing and put my sword back in its sheath when I heard the sound of hoofbeats nearby.  
  
I walked over to the side of the courtyard just in time to see Arwen and another man in chain mail armour dismount from their horses. The man was saying something softly, and she was laughing. I could only assume he was Aragorn. Did Elrond send for him, in regards to the situation with the sword, or was it purely by chance he had come?  
  
The air did not answer my unspoken question. Arwen and Aragorn tied up their horses in the stables and headed inside the building.  
  
"Was that Aragorn?" someone asked from behind me. With a shudder, I turned around to see Lauren at my side. Apparently, the elves had taught her how to be stealthy as well. Or maybe it was a natural ability.  
  
"I believe so," I replied.  
  
"Huh," was her response. Then she turned to me. "Is something wrong? You seem kinda pale."  
  
I turned around to face her. "Not really. I'm fine."  
  
"Okay," Lauren said, but I think she knew something was up. She didn't say anything further, though.  
  
Elrond came out not much later to let us know supper was ready. He told us not to be late, for he was a really good chef and missing out on this meal would be a shame. I wasn't sure whether he was joking or not when he'd said he was the chef. He seemed to say the whole thing with a stony face.  
  
Not wanting to miss supper, regardless of who was its creator, we all went inside. This time, we were led into the dining hall, not the balcony. I large fire roared in the heath, and I found the setting to be rather cozy. Aragorn and Arwen were already seated near the far end of the long table. They both smiled upon our arrival (not that they hadn't already been smiling before).  
  
Legolas told us that since we were the guests of honour, we would sit at the opposite end. He suggested I take the end position since I appeared to be the eldest of the three of us, but I turned down the offer. I didn't want one of the two spots where everyone always turns their attention to. Besides, Shea was more than happy to take my place. Lauren and I then sat down to her right and left (around the corners). Legolas then sat down next to Lauren. After that, all the spots began to fill up, with Elrond taking his end position last. Almost immediately after sitting down, he stood up again, holding his goblet in hand.  
  
"A toast," he proclaimed with a smile, "to our exceptional guests." Upon saying exceptional, I found he was looking directly at me. I found myself blush and grin a little, then pick up my glass as everyone else did and take a sip.  
  
"Bleh," I thought, fortunately not saying such a comment aloud, and put the glass down quickly but delicately. I did not care for wine, nor alcohol of any sort. To my relief, my hosts had not noticed my distaste of the drink.  
  
While we ate dinner (the main course of which was a meat of some sort), there was casual conversation. Aragorn, having never met or spoken to us before, asked us various questions about our world. For a little humour, I thought I'd add in some of the wondrous chat we had.  
  
"You can fly in your world?" Aragorn was saying in disbelief. "How? Is it a magical ability, or do some of your people have wings?"  
  
"No," Shea replied with a giggle. "We ride airplanes and helicopters."  
  
"Are those creatures?" Aragorn asked with raised eyebrows.  
  
"No," Shea said. "We build them in factories."  
  
"They're machines," Lauren clarified. "Made of metal."  
  
"How many people can ride on their backs?" Aragorn continued in curiosity.  
  
"Well, it depends on the model," Shea told him, "but they can hold up to several hundred. And you always ride on the inside, not the top." She couldn't help but laugh at that strange thought.  
  
"Hundreds? Such massive contraptions. And you ride in their bellies?" he exclaimed.  
  
"You could say that," Lauren responded with a grin.  
  
Anyways, you get the idea. We also amazed Aragorn and all the others with tales of buses, skyscrapers, roads of asphalt, suspension bridges, computers, and space shuttles. Needless to say, they found our world to be quite impressive. I'm not sure if they'd want to live there, but by the expressions on their faces, they were certainly interested in visiting.  
  
Once dinner was finished, we thanked Elrond for the meal and went our separate ways. As I left the dining hall, I heard Aragorn switch to an update of orc attacks and other threats for Elrond. I remembered once again Legolas telling me how concerned Elrond was of the orcs and their position in regards to Rivendell. How this wonderful place might not remain safe, nested in this lovely mountain valley. And once again, I found myself hoping that wouldn't happen. I didn't want such a tragedy to befall these people. And also once again, I felt a burning need to do something that could help them in some way.  
  
I had been pondering all this as I walked down the main hall, away from the dining hall. As the voices got quieter and quieter, I suddenly found myself beside the library doors. I felt a compulsion to go in, to walk over to that table, open that casket, and hold the sword. I stood in front of those doors for quite a while, in a trance-like state. There was a growing desire in me to move forward and push open the grand doors. At the same time, there was another force within that cautioned me not to enter the library and to leave the sword alone. And here I was, caught in the middle.  
  
If it weren't for my good intentions in wanting to assist the elves so badly, I don't think my attraction to the sword would have been so strong. It seemed to appeal to that want, building it up, until it became more like a need. I started having silly thoughts then, like taking the sword and running into the woods to hunt down and kill every orc and every evil creature that threatened the elves until they were all dead and the threat gone.  
  
I finally snapped out of it when I heard something metal fall to the floor in the dining hall. It was only a tray, I figured, but I thanked the universe for its occurrence and briskly walked out of the building before I started lusting for the sword again. As I walked out, though, I swore I could hear that humming sound carried on the wind from the library windows. I pretended I couldn't hear it and broke into a run, forcing my legs to move.  
  
It wasn't until I was on the outskirts of Rivendell that I definitely didn't hear the humming sound anymore. I don't know if I had run out of range or whether it had stopped. Then again, perhaps it had all been in my mind. After all, if it had truly been so loud for me to have heard it outside, wouldn't those inside also have heard it?  
  
I sauntered over to the edge of the stream Rivendell was on and sat down. It was now getting quite dark, but I had always liked dusk anyways. Besides, I enjoyed hearing the gentle babbling of the water, and I didn't want to go back for a while in the fear that I might hear the humming noise again and become drawn to the sword. Not that I thought the sword was evil; I just didn't like having anything holding such control over me. Then again, I was not so naive to believe the sword was automatically a force of good either. Perhaps the reason it had been designed just for men was to keep humans fighting amongst one another in their lust over the sword while elves remained safe. I didn't want to think that an elf would create such a horrible device for that purpose, but I couldn't dismiss any possibilities. Still, that didn't entirely fit, considering the fact that Elrond said the sword had little effect on Aragorn, and he was a man.  
  
In stark contrast to when I stood infront of the library doors, time passed very slowly by the stream. It was peaceful and passive, unlike the blunt strength of the sword. I felt low on energy and had to recuperate again, even though I hadn't even held the sword this time. And then there was the drake on the hilt. In truth, my question of its significance had been more a statement. It was indeed significant. I had always held a fascination for drakes and dragons, and they were my favourite creatures of fantasy. I couldn't believe it was just a coincidence that one should suddenly appear on the sword.  
  
I didn't go back for at least another hour. As luck would have it, no one had noticed my absence, which is good, because I didn't want them worrying over me. When I went past the library, I noticed that candlelight was coming from its windows. I figured Elrond was going over today's events with Arwen and Aragorn and showing them the sword. I decided not to hang around, though, so as not to take the chance that I might be affected by the sword's power again.  
  
Despite all my worries and questions, I went to sleep that night rather quickly and dreamt of flying on the backs of drakes and dragons. Fortunately, the sword never made an appearance. 


	6. Discussion of the Sword

Disclaimer: I don't own Lord of the Rings, nor any of its related material.  
  
This is my first fanfic for Lord of the Rings. Actually, this would be my first fanfic period. So anyways, enjoy the readin'!  
Also, I would like to thank Shea and Lauren for assisting me in Elven names and Sindarin translations.  
  
  
6. DISCUSSION OF THE SWORD  
  
  
While I had been down by the stream, Elrond, Aragorn, and Arwen held a secret meeting in the library. They all spoke in Sindarin, so as to reduce the chance that any eavesdroppers could understand what they were discussing. Nevertheless, Elrond made a habit of continually pacing between the window and the door, ears perked and eyes peeled.  
  
Elrond brought them all to the table. First, he addressed Aragorn. "Do you recall that sword I had you hold a while back?"  
  
"Yes, of course," Aragorn said, after a little bit of thinking. It had been far from his mind and not been of much importance. "What of it?"  
  
"I'd like you to hold it again," Elrond said while opening the casket and leaving the sword sitting in it for Aragorn to pick up. I look of concern crossed Arwen's face, but she did not say anything.  
  
For a moment, Aragorn thought this was some sort of a peculiar joke, but then he reminded himself that Elrond never made jokes about such matters. He reached down with his right hand and lifted the sword out of the casket by its hilt. Instantly, he was hit by that feeling of strength again.  
  
"How do you feel?" Elrond asked him, a frown on his face.  
  
Aragorn sighed and replied, "I feel the slight increase of power again, like how you said the runes say the sword does for men." At Elrond's questioning look, he asked, "Is something more supposed to happen?"  
  
"I'm not sure," Elrond told him. "Just keep holding it a while longer." Then he started pacing again.  
  
Aragorn was getting a little impatient, but he knew better than to hurry Elrond along. If Elrond was doing this, it must be important. He did exchange glances with Arwen, though. She returned him a look saying she had no idea what this was about either.  
  
Just then, Aragorn noticed the wings and the drake on the hilt. He looked up from the sword to Elrond and commented, "Didn't there used to be leaves engraved on the hilt?" Arwen immediately came over to take a look.  
  
"Yes," Elrond replied with gritted teeth as he looked out the window. Then he turned around and launched into an explanation of what had occurred with this afternoon.  
  
"But why him?" Aragorn questioned to no one in particular. "Why him but not other men?"  
  
Elrond simply shook his head, wishing he knew the answer himself. "Perhaps it is because he comes from another world, or perhaps it is because he used the Fire Relic to get here." Upon mentioning the artifact, Elrond quickly repeated to them the story of how I had come to Middle Earth and the Fire Relic's involvement.  
  
"Have you heard of this Fire Relic?" Arwen asked him.  
  
"No," Elrond admitted, "but something about it seems familiar. I don't believe it was created in his world."  
  
"Do you think it may have originally come from Middle Earth?" Aragorn asked, not really expecting a definite answer.  
  
"I don't know," Elrond stated, "although it's a possibility."  
  
With a sudden look of dread on his face, Aragorn asked, "Could this sword be related to the Rings?"  
  
"I doubt it," Elrond replied. "It is most certainly of elven make." Then he conceded, "The effect on Mr. Ferraro seems to be similar, though. He is drawn to the sword. I have seen it in his eyes. Much to my relief, though, he had the wisdom to put it down and leave it here." There was a brief silence as everyone thought about the ramifications of it all.  
  
"Have you tried it on either of the girls who also came from his world?" Aragorn continued.  
  
"I thought of that," Elrond told him, "but I decided it would be best to keep them out of this. There's no point dragging them into it all." They all nodded in agreement to this. There was a much longer period of silence after this. Aragorn turned the sword back and forth in his hand, examining it, while Arwen looked at it from his side, deep in thought.  
  
"Very well," Elrond finally said. "Let's keep the sword here for now and conclude this meeting. I will pursue the matter further in the morning. Hopefully something will turn up."  
  
Aragorn nodded, laid the sword in the casket, and closed it. Elrond then took the casket and hid it behind a stack of books on a shelf. After saying good night, Aragorn and Arwen left. Elrond stood staring out the library's main window for a good ten minutes longer, wondering what it could all mean. Then he decided it wasn't worth losing sleep over until he had more information to work with. He blew out the candles and went to bed.  
  
At some point early in the morning, there came the familiar humming sound from the casket which steadily increased in intensity. Finally, it stopped, and there was no further disturbance in the library. 


	7. An Odd Occurrence

Disclaimer: I don't own Lord of the Rings, nor any of its related material.  
  
This is my first fanfic for Lord of the Rings. Actually, this would be my first fanfic period. So anyways, enjoy the readin'!  
Also, I would like to thank Shea and Lauren for assisting me in Elven names and Sindarin translations.  
  
  
7. AN ODD OCCURRENCE  
  
  
I woke up with a yawn but did not get up. As with most mornings, I much preferred to just lie in bed and sleep in. With a pleasant smile on my face, I pulled up the covers and rolled onto my other side. Then I saw something which scared the wits out of me.  
  
The sword lay right beside my pillow.  
  
I froze. It wasn't glowing or humming, but it was definitely there nonetheless. I blinked a couple times, wondering if I were still dreaming. I felt a breeze coming through the open window, and the thin white curtains danced in the air. No, I didn't think it could be a dream. Still, I had to be sure. I reached out to touch the sword, then realized that was a bad idea and jerked my hand back under the covers.  
  
And then I knew it was happening again. I was falling into the trance-like state. I kept staring at the sword. Every so often, I took a glance at my watch. The minutes were going by like seconds. I don't believe the sword actually manipulated time; it was just my perception of it which changed.  
  
In a sudden and desperate reaction, I kicked away the covers and jumped out of bed on the side opposite the sword. I just stood there staring at it for a few more seconds before making a dash for the door before I could fall under its spell again.  
  
As I reached the door, though, it suddenly occurred to me that I couldn't just leave the sword lying on my bed. I wasn't sure if the others would believe me in that it just appeared there all by itself (even though magic was a common thing in Middle Earth), and I didn't want them thinking I had stolen it. In a decisive move, I picked up a bunch of the white bed sheets and wrapped them around my right hand. Then I approached the sword. Fortunately, it still hadn't started humming or shining. My one fear was that it might begin to do that again once I grasped it, and I didn't want to draw attention here.  
  
Taking a deep breath, I brought down my sheet-covered hand and firmly took hold of the hilt of the sword. It didn't react. Good. I then looked around the room for something to put the sword in. After searching thoroughly, I found nothing of sufficient size, so I carefully wrapped the bed sheets around it, taking care not to rub them against the sharp blade. I then opened the door, looked about to make sure no one was watching, and stole down the stairs.  
  
Once outside, I bolted for the library. Thankfully, I encountered no one along the path I took. I decided to switch to walking inside the main hall, as I didn't want to seem suspicious if seen (although carrying a bundle of bed sheets around would no doubt already seem kinda weird). I reached the library doors and turned the handle. There was a "click-click" sound, and the doors wouldn't budge. They were locked!  
  
Then I remembered the way Legolas had brought me down the first time I had entered the place and ran back outside. I could only hope that method of getting in wasn't barred as well. As I climbed the outer stairs, I heard voices and the sounds of utensils on plates, and I stopped where I was. Argh! There were people up there having breakfast!  
  
Now what would I do? I couldn't afford to wait too long, for Elrond might go into the library to check on the sword at any time. Even if I could hide the sword, what would be my excuse for going into the library alone?  
  
"Okay, calm down, James," I thought to myself. "There's a perfectly logical way to accomplish this. You just haven't found it yet." I quietly walked back down the steps to the base of the stairs. "I know!" my sarcastic side commented within my head. "I'll just use this magical sword to summon Houdini! He'll get that ol' sword back in its casket, no problemo!"  
  
Then a decent idea actually came to me. The windows! Maybe I could get in there somehow. I glanced about to make sure no one was there to see me and darted towards the base of the library windows. To my dismay, they were all closed and all out of reach. There was no way I could climb up to them and no way of getting in from there, short of breaking the windows.  
  
"Damnit," I cursed softly to the bundled up sword. "You just couldn't stay away from me, could you?" Then I realized I probably shouldn't aggravate it in any way, lest it might start glowing and making its sound again.  
  
I looked up to the library windows again, just to be sure I hadn't missed any opportunities. One quick check told me I hadn't.  
  
All of the sudden, the voices from the balcony started coming down the stairs. My head swung from side to side as I searched for a good hiding spot. I quickly came to the conclusion that the bushes under the library windows were my only hope for the amount of time I had left until the people on the stairs came down to ground level. I moved behind the bushes as fast as I could without creating too much of a rustling noise. The bushes had a good deal of foliage, and I was pretty sure no human could spot me. The problem here was that these were elves I was dealing with. If their eyes didn't discover me, their ears certainly might.  
  
To my relief, the two individuals walked away in the opposite direction. I crawled through the dirt, being careful not to dislodge the sword from the sheets. Once back on the open grass, I snuck around to the bottom of the stairs. The two elves were already out of sight. Excellent.  
  
Walking up the stairs once again in a crouched position, I listened for further sounds. As I neared the top, I heard the washing of dishes and someone singing a hymn. Taking a big risk, I poked my head up above the wall. There was no one on the balcony. I immediately dashed up the last few stairs so quietly that I surprised even myself. I then ran to the inset of stairs leading down into the library and followed them down, only to discover another door at the bottom. I must not have noticed it before, because it had been wide open. Not ready to admit defeat, I tried the handle. It was locked.  
  
"Great," I thought. "Just great. Why'd this door have to be locked too?"  
  
Then, as if things weren't bad enough, the sword started to glow from under the sheets.  
  
"No, no, no!" I thought, exasperated. I started to mentally beg the sword not to begin humming too.  
  
Then a very shocking thing happened. I heard the lock in the door make a clicking noise. My head snapped up, for I was afraid someone in the library was opening the door! They would see me! A good twenty seconds passed, though, and the door wasn't opened. I looked down to notice the sword was no longer glowing.  
  
"That's funny," I thought. My curiosity finally got the better of me, and I reached out and turned the handle. The door swung open. I walked into the room, just waiting for Elrond to stick his head out from between a row of shelves to see who had entered the library. There was no such appearance, though. I quietly closed the door behind me and did a quick examination of the room. There was no one here!  
  
"That's very odd," I actually said out loud this time. "I could have sworn that door was locked when I first tried it. Besides, I heard the door unlock."  
  
I'd have to ponder this weird occurrence later. Now was the time to put the darn sword back where it belonged. I strode over to the table where the casket had been, only to discover it was gone.  
  
"Uh oh," I thought. "What if Elrond already found that the sword was missing and took the casket elsewhere as a result?"  
  
Hoping that wasn't the case, I frantically searched the entire library, being very observant of where things were and the positions they'd been in before moving them around. After almost fifteen minutes of rummaging, I finally found the casket behind a pile of books. So Elrond had hid it. A smart move.  
  
I hastily swung it open. To my complete shock, the sword was already in the casket. I looked down to see my hand holding a bundle of bedsheets that had no form anymore.  
  
"What the?" I started in utter disbelief. There was definitely something very wrong here. I slapped myself across the forehead several times, along with some good old fashioned pinches, in the hopes this was all one wacky dream. If it was, I didn't wake up.  
  
"Okay, whatever," I said, again remembering that I couldn't stay here to figure this all out. Shaking my finger at the sword, I lectured, "Don't you go disappearing again. Stay there!" I truly wished I were joking.  
  
Then I closed the casket, put it back up in its hiding spot, and placed the books right back where they were in front of it. I then ran to the door, opened it, jumped out, closed it, and suddenly realized it had no way to lock the dead bolt from the outside. I would just have to hope Elrond didn't notice that.  
  
I scrambled up the stairs, scampered along the balcony, went down the side stairs, and made a wild run for the building containing my bedroom. As I dashed up the stairs in there two at a time, I almost crashed into Shea coming down.  
  
"Whoa," she commented with a yawn. "You're up early."  
  
"Uh huh," I affirmed, getting around her and continuing my manic run up the stairs.  
  
"Nice seeing you," she said with a tired voice. Then, being so sleepy, she finally noticed out of the corner of her eye that I had been dragging what looked to be bedsheets along. "Okay then..." she commented and kept walking on down the stairs.  
  
I ran into my room and closed the door behind me. I had seriously been half expecting the sword to be back on my bed, just to play further havoc with my life. Fortunately, though, it wasn't. I gave a huge a huge sigh of relief and fell down onto my bed. 


	8. The Search for the Sunglasses

Disclaimer: I don't own Lord of the Rings, nor any of its related material.  
  
This is my first fanfic for Lord of the Rings. Actually, this would be my first fanfic period. So anyways, enjoy the readin'!  
Also, I would like to thank Shea and Lauren for assisting me in Elven names and Sindarin translations.  
  
  
8. THE SEARCH FOR THE SUNGLASSES  
  
  
I had breakfast with Shea and Lauren that morning. None of us were very talkative. For them, I suppose it was just weariness. For me, it was another matter entirely. I had to leave the town for the day. I had to get out of proximity of the sword. But how? What would be my excuse? I had to plan some expedition. Then it hit me. I knew what to do.  
  
After breakfast, I wandered down to the courtyard to find Legolas taking some shots at the targets. Needless to say, they were all bull's eyes. He turned in my direction upon my approach.  
  
"Come to get an early start on honing your skills?" he asked with a grin, taunting me to join him.  
  
"Actually," I replied matter of factly, "I wanted to take a trip to the spot where I arrived here in Middle Earth."  
  
Legolas lost his grin, thought about that, and gave me another smile, saying, "Sure. We'll go after lunch." He turned around, loaded another arrow, and made another shot, another bull's eye (a different target this time).  
  
"I'm afraid time is of the essence," I told him hurriedly. "You see, I had a backpack with me that had some very important items in it which I must find." Seeing Legolas' dubious look, I added, "If they were to fall into the hands of the orcs, it could be very devastating."  
  
I'd caught Legolas' attention with that last statement. He put down the bow and walked over to me. "What kind of items?" he asked.  
  
"Well..." I began, thinking quickly, then gave a snap of my fingers and replied, "Sunglasses!"  
  
"Sunglasses?" Legolas repeated, his eyebrows stretched. He seemed rather skeptical. "What are those?"  
  
"Oh, they're truly powerful devices," I told him. "They can block out the rays of the sun! Now just imagine what would happen if the orcs got ahold of that!"  
  
Legolas' eyes were wide in considering the consequences of such a scenario, and he muttered to himself in a shaky voice, "Eternal darkness. The orcs would thrive. Men and elves would perish!"  
  
"Yes," I said, "and that's just one of the many items in my backpack. It's actually one of the least powerful items."  
  
Legolas frowned greatly at my latest comment. Suddenly, he grabbed his bow and a pack of his best arrows, swung it all onto his back, and told me sternly, "We must go immediately. Such power cannot fall into the hands of the orcs. I will pack us a lunch and meet you back down here. Make sure you have your sword with you." I nodded, and he ran up the stairs to get to the kitchen.  
  
Not even five minutes later, we met back up at the base of the stairs. I had my sword (the regular one, of course), and he had the leather pack containing the lunches. In addition, he now had his sword strapped to his side as well.  
  
"All right," he said. "Let us make haste." I nodded, and we started jogging towards the forest. In my peripheral vision, I saw Shea walking along the path behind us. She suddenly noticed us and called out to ask where we were going and whether she could come too.  
  
"Stay here," Legolas replied loudly. "We're off to rescue James' sunglasses! We'll be back sometime after lunch!"  
  
As we disappeared into the depths of the forest, Shea must have thought we were all going nuts. First she'd seen me carrying around my bedsheets early this morning, and now Legolas and I were off to fetch my sunglasses as if the fate of the world hung in the balance.  
  
At any rate, it took us a good fifty minutes to reach the area. Once we were there, we crept up to the edges of the trees and bushes and saw an alarming sight. There was a whole party of dwarves in the clearing, and they seemed to be searching for something.  
  
"It's as you feared," Legolas whispered. "People are looking for your items! Granted, they're not orcs, but dwarves are not much better. If they get their greedy hands on your items, we may never..." He trailed off. I could tell Legolas was no exception to the rule that dwarves and elves disliked each other. "All right," he said finally, "let's go out there and try talking to them. Perhaps they aren't even searching for your backpack." He didn't seem too convinced of that possibility, though.  
  
"Right," I replied, and we stepped out into the clearing. Instantly, one dwarf saw our emergence, and he warned the others. They all took their axes in hand and turned to us as if being backed into a corner.  
  
Legolas put up his hands slightly, and proclaimed, "We aren't looking for trouble. We are simply here to..." His voice faded away, for he didn't want to let them know why we were really here. After all, what if they were indeed here for some other purpose, and he had then let them know of the magical items? They would most likely have started searching for them themselves after such an explanation. Fortunately, I had come up with a good excuse and came to his aid.  
  
"To pick up pine cones!" I declared.  
  
Legolas' head spun to the side, and he looked at me with an expression saying, "What are you doing?!" The dwarves also stared at me with odd looks on their bearded faces.  
  
"Yes," I continued. "We aim to preserve a very special tree in these parts, and we must collect its pine cones to grow new ones."  
  
"Yes," Legolas agreed while turning back to face the dwarves with a look of uncertainty on his face. "That is right."  
  
The dwarves just stood there for a while, just blinking and not saying anything, and I began to fear they weren't buying it. Then they suddenly burst into laughter.  
  
"Leave it to a pair of elves to be concerned about the preservation of a tree!" the lead dwarf roared.  
  
Legolas seemed ruffled by the comment but stood his ground. As for the comment about two elves, I realized they must have mistaken me for an elf. After all, they were more than fifty metres away, and my physical appearance must have thrown them off. Most men in this land had beards (I only had about a day's stubble which couldn't really be seen from far away), and I was also rather slim for a man. In addition, they must have assumed that since Legolas was definitely an elf, so was I.  
  
Anyways, Legolas ignored the comment and called out, "And what, may I ask, is your business in these parts?"  
  
The dwarves seemed caught off guard by that and stopped laughing. They started looking to each other rapidly, and the lead dwarf finally gave a response.  
  
"We are searching for gold!" he exclaimed. The other dwarves joined in on his enthusiasm.  
  
Legolas seemed very unbelieving upon hearing this statement, though. "There is no gold in these parts," he stated loudly to the dwarves.  
  
The lead dwarf quickly replied, "Well we shall prove that belief wrong!" There was another cheer from the other dwarves. Legolas shook his head.  
  
"Keep them busy," I whispered to him and started walking to the right side of the clearing. Legolas seemed to look back and forth between me and the dwarves with a desperate look, as if he couldn't handle them on his own.  
  
All of the sudden, the lead dwarf yelled, "What is this treachery? Where do you think you are going, devious elf?"  
  
I turned to look at him while continuing to walk to my intended destination. "To gather pine cones of course," I replied as if that were an obvious fact.  
  
"Oh no you don't!" the dwarf exclaimed. "You'll stay right beside your elven friend's side!"  
  
"Why, surely my collecting little pine cones won't affect your glorious search for gold, now will it?" I responded with an amused look on my face.  
  
The dwarf seemed positively enraged and bellowed, "You're a tribute to your kind, elf, but don't start taunting me! Get back here!"  
  
"I shall," I told him, nearing the edge of the clearing, "after I collect all the pine cones." With that said, I ducked into the mass of trees.  
  
"Such defiance!" roared the dwarf, swinging his axe in the air. This only inspired the other dwarves to do similar actions.  
  
Legolas took a big swallow. He seemed to be hoping I would indeed come back and that I hadn't abandoned him to the mercy of the discordant dwarves.  
  
Once in the forest, I quickly set about in looking for my backpack. Thankfully, for once in my life, I found what I was searching for very quickly. As I had suspected, my backpack was hanging from one of the lower branches of a tree. I was able to poke it with a long branch that had been lying on the ground, and it finally came down into my arms. I then ran deep into the forest and lay it down beside a particular tree I knew I could remember and ran back to the clearing.  
  
Legolas was in the midst of a very heated argument with the dwarves. I dashed up to him, tapped him on the shoulder, and said in loud voice so the dwarves could all hear me, "Let us go! There are pine cones in other parts of the woods! Let's leave the dwarves to their gold!" I stared into Legolas' eyes, and he immediately picked up on the fact that I had found the backpack.  
  
"Yes," he said, nodding, "pine cones are not worth a quarrel. Let us leave." We trotted into the forest, and I led him to the spot where I had put the backpack. Upon picking it up, he asked whether I had checked to make sure nothing was missing. I unzipped the bag and rummaged through the contents.  
  
"Yep," I responded. "Everything's here, including..." I reached in and pulled out my silver rimmed and blue lensed sunglasses, then put them on.  
  
With a huge grin on my face, I looked up and said, "Cool, huh?"  
  
Legolas seemed rather confused and asked, "Are these the sunglasses you spoke of?"  
  
"Yes," I confirmed. "It's a good thing we got to them first."  
  
"Certainly," Legolas agreed, though he actually seemed quite uncertain. "We had best head back now, in case the dwarves decide to move this way."  
  
"Agreed," I said with a smile. "Let's go."  
  
We walked back to Rivendell and ate the lunch Legolas had packed halfway there. During that period of time, I showed Legolas many of my "magical" items. I think the one that impressed him the most was the flashlight. Once we were done eating, we packed up all our stuff and headed back to Rivendell. 


	9. Planning of the Trip

Disclaimer: I don't own Lord of the Rings, nor any of its related material.  
  
This is my first fanfic for Lord of the Rings. Actually, this would be my first fanfic period. So anyways, enjoy the readin'!  
Also, I would like to thank Shea and Lauren for assisting me in Elven names and Sindarin translations.  
  
  
9. PLANNING OF THE TRIP  
  
  
We got back there around mid afternoon, and Legolas headed over to the main building to put away the packs and the various supplies he had taken. While he was doing this, I glanced over at the courtyard to see Shea and Lauren working on their swordsmanship with determined looks on their faces. As I watched, I realized just how good they'd gotten. Their moves with the blades were graceful and smooth.  
  
All of the sudden, I could hear it again. The sword's humming came down from the library windows and filled the air. Soon, it was so intense, I couldn't hear the wind anymore or the swishing sounds of the girls' blades. I soon found myself looking up to the main window of the library in that trance again.  
  
There was a tap on my shoulder, and I jumped. I turned around to see Legolas standing next to me. I hadn't heard him approach due to the humming noise of the sword. Now he seemed concerned and was saying something to me. I told him I was fine, but I couldn't hear my own words. He said something after that and indicated the girls in the courtyard. I nodded and he strode off towards them.  
  
So... This proved that the sound was indeed within my head. Legolas couldn't hear it. In any case, I had to get rid of it, so I walked into the main hall, up to the library doors. To my surprise, they were wide open. Upon walking through the entrance, the sword's sound stopped.  
  
"Thank you!" I thought and left the library. When I was not more than a couple feet away, though, the sound started up again, and I halted. I ran back into the library and the sound once again stopped.  
  
"Okay," I thought to the sword. "What little game are you playing this time?"  
  
I walked up to the spot where it had been hidden and removed the books. The casket was gone!  
  
"Elrond took it with him to show the others."  
  
I turned around to see Arwen standing in the doorway of the library.  
  
"Others?" I asked.  
  
"A secret council, mostly composed of elves," she replied and started to walk towards me.  
  
"If it's secret, why did you just tell me?" I joked with a grin.  
  
Arwen smiled and stopped where she was a couple metres in front of me. We just stared at each other for minutes on end. I could tell she had been waiting here this whole time to see if I would be lured into the library, and she had been told about the unlocked door. So Elrond had noticed. I'd expected he would.  
  
"It keeps ringing in my mind," I told her. She just kept looking at me and said nothing in response. "Look, I know it sounds crazy, but it's true."  
  
You can't imagine the frustration I was feeling right now. I wanted to ask her if they all suspected me of something, of whether they thought I was up to no good, etc., but I knew there was no point. I could tell in her eyes such things were not to be spoken at this time. At the same time, I also wanted to tell her all about the sword's weird effects. I wanted to tell her how the sword had appeared on my bed, and I had to sneak it back into the library. I wanted to tell her, even if she wouldn't believe me. Still, I got that same feeling that now wasn't the time.  
  
And then it came to me, as if my mind had been filled with mud, and a crystal clear stream of water had come through and washed it all out. I knew what I had to do.  
  
"I have to go," I said.  
  
"Where?" she asked. Arwen seemed truly shocked, like she hadn't been expecting that from me.  
  
"Away from here," I told her. At her questioning look, I continued, "It's the sword. I have to get away from it."  
  
"But it's not even here," Arwen stated.  
  
"It doesn't have to be," I replied and waved my hands to indicate the entire room. "This room is filled with magical items and magical pieces of information..." Arwen started to look around as if she were already beginning to see what I was saying.  
  
"Everything here has been influenced by the sword," I continued, looking at the shelves of books. "This room is soaked with its energy."  
  
Then I turned back to her and added, "There is something I have to do. I know it in my heart, and I must leave to do it. Please, you must trust me."  
  
"What do you have to do?" she asked with a concerned look on her face.  
  
"I can't tell you now," I responded, "but what I can tell you is that I must travel far to do so. Please, Arwen, you must let me go. It's very important. My mission here may be the key to solving the mystery of the sword and why it reacts to me as it does. And please don't tell the others. They'd fret about me and no doubt try to stop me. But I must do this, I must. Please..." I couldn't think of what else to say to convince her.  
  
Arwen stood where she was, not saying anything for a long while. Then she finally nodded solemnly and walked over to several spots in the library to collect a few unknown items. She then walked over to me and gave me two things. The first was a small pouch of what seemed to be coins and the other was a miniature brown flute made of a fine wood.  
  
"The money may or may not be useful, depending on where you go," she said, referring to the pouch of coins I now held in my left hand. Then she pointed to the small flute.  
  
"That," she told me, "is in case you run into any trouble wherever you may go. Should you encounter serious difficulty in your task, blow it, and our feathered friends - the birds - will hear its call and come to assist you in any way they can. Keep in mind, though, that it will only work on creatures which are allied with us. Not all birds will come to your rescue. In general, its usefulness diminishes greatly the farther away from Rivendell you are."  
  
"Thank you," I said with an expression of gratitude.  
  
Arwen nodded and asked, "When will you be leaving?"  
  
"In a couple hours," I replied.  
  
"You won't even stay for supper?" she questioned with a saddened look on her face, although I think she knew inwardly that I had made up my mind and wasn't going to change it.  
  
"No," I said. "I think it would be best if I left as soon as possible. I'll stay here for a few hours to complete some research first, but I must leave after that."  
  
Arwen nodded again and told me she would pack me some food for the trip in the meantime. I slipped my backpack off my shoulders and asked if she could put everything in there. She agreed, and I shuffled things around (and took out various items I wouldn't need for my mission) to make space for the food. She then walked off with my backpack to the kitchen, and I got started in my research.  
  
I had to find a drake. That had been the desire in my heart. That was how I could help the elves. In addition, I had some feeling deep within me that told me once I'd found the drake, I would be able to master the sword. Somehow this had all fit together as if I had suddenly put all the pieces of the puzzle together and seen a glimpse of the picture it displayed. To anyone else, I'm sure this would all seem crazy, but to me, it all made complete sense.  
  
I quickly went to work and pulled out all the books I could find on drakes and dragons. Unfortunately, they were all written in Sindarin (which I couldn't read). I was able to find many useful maps, though. I grabbed pieces of parchment and copied them down. Once I was done, I had a pretty good idea of where I'd go looking.  
  
Arwen had come back a while ago and deposited my backpack beside me. Upon seeing the books laid open with entire pages written in Sindarin, she offered to translate for me. I told her that wouldn't be necessary, but thanked her anyways. I think she must have happened to read some of it and gained some understanding of what my plan was, because she gave a slight gasp at one point but quickly recomposed herself afterwards.  
  
Lastly, she did something I had definitely not been expecting. She gave me a quick peck on the forehead and wished me good luck in my voyage.  
  
I blushed a little at the kiss and found myself thanking her once again. I then gave a goodbye (even though I wasn't leaving right that minute) and a smile to let her know I did indeed plan to come back in one piece.  
  
She smiled back, despite the gravity of the situation, and then left the library to leave me to my studying of the books.  
  
Finally I was finished and put all the books back in their places. I picked up my backpack to make sure I had everything I would need (or everything I thought I'd need anyways). I gave the interior of my backpack a quick look just to see what Arwen had packed for food and discovered that she had also added such things as rope and hooks, a knife, blankets, etc. I guess that's why she'd taken a little longer than I had otherwise expected.  
  
As I left the main building, I thought about going over to the courtyard to pick up a bow and some arrows, but I quickly decided against it. First of all, my archery skills were still so bad that it probably wasn't worth it for me to carry the extra weight of equipment (hanging a bow on my shoulders would also make it harder to run). Secondly, I didn't want to take the chance of running into Legolas or one of the girls and having to explain the loaded backpack on my shoulders. I'd probably be forced to lie so they wouldn't try to stop me from going, and I'd hate to have to lie to my friends. No, it was best to start my journey right now and get on with it.  
  
So I left. This time, I had to use the switchback path to get up the side of the mountain to get on course. I just hoped Arwen had picked the best path for me (that was the one thing I let her help me with in regards to the books - she showed me the way through the Misty Mountains that had the least number of dangers).  
  
It took me almost two weeks to reach my destination, and I fortunately encountered no major dangers that would have given me a reason to blow the little flute. Nevertheless, hiking through the mountains was hadn't been easy - there were countless nights involving snow, cold conditions, falling boulders, and more snow. I sure came to appreciate the thick blankets Arwen had given me.  
  
Anyways, other than that, my trip was pretty much uneventful, so I've decided to skip to the part where I actually got to my destination. 


	10. The Drake

Disclaimer: I don't own Lord of the Rings, nor any of its related material.  
  
This is my first fanfic for Lord of the Rings. Actually, this would be my first fanfic period. So anyways, enjoy the readin'!  
Also, I would like to thank Shea and Lauren for assisting me in Elven names and Sindarin translations.  
  
  
10. THE DRAKE  
  
  
So here I was. I had finally trekked all the way to the northern mountains, the legendary home of drakes and dragons. Throughout time, these creatures had been responsible for dozens upon dozens of tales and stories in Middle Earth. And they did not discriminate. Whether the village was of men, elves, or dwarves, it never seemed to matter to the reptilian creatures of the air. They raided and pillaged with just as much ferocity every time.  
  
Of course, I was looking for a more docile drake (if there is such a thing at all). I wasn't looking for one that enjoyed the flesh of men, the riches of the dwarves, or the magical items of the elves. I had heard that the drakes in this range of mountains were more hermit-like and preferred to be left alone. They very rarely attacked villages or bands of travelers. When they did, it was usually a matter of defending their territory. Drakes do not appreciate unwelcome guests within the boundaries of their homes and treat them accordingly.  
  
I remember learning all this when I asked a local dwarf a ways back about where to find a drake. At first, the dwarf just stared at me. "You want to go looking for a drake?" he eventually responded. "Yes," I replied. He must have seen the seriousness in my eyes, for he slowly dished out directions for me to find the kind of drakes I was looking for. I don't think he ever stopped questioning my sanity, though.  
  
I was brought out of my reverie by a very cold gust of wind coming down off the mountains. It had gotten much more chilly out, and I was only in the valley at the foot of the mountains. I had yet to climb them to get to the heart of my search.  
  
I walked past a particularly large boulder that had come down in a rockslide. I had passed it when something out of the corner of my eye caught my attention. I twirled around to notice a line of dwarven runes engraved on the side of the boulder. Too bad I'd never taken the time to learn their language. I could guess the gist of it, though. Probably "Beware: Domain of the drakes" or something like that. Wise advice, no doubt.  
  
I turned back around to continue my ascent. The number of rocks and boulders increased until the entire ground was a sheet of rubble. The rocks underneath my feet had the annoying habit of slipping, making walking very difficult. In addition, I kept having to make detours around the larger boulders. I noticed a gleam of light among the rocks ahead just then. I ran over (which was actually hard to do without twisting an ankle in the bed of rocks) to discover that it was only the metallic end of an arrow shaft stuck between the rocks. It got me thinking who had battled here. Had the individuals tried to defend themselves against an attacking drake? Arrows wouldn't do much good unless they were aimed at the creature's eye. A drake's scales are almost as hard as metal itself. Arrows would simply bounce off, and I don't think the drake would even feel them hit. I suspect it would be like someone trying to kill you by throwing paper clips at you. In any case, I could see no corpses, so I wondered if the unfortunate party had managed to get away. I found that unlikely. From the stories I'd heard, drakes didn't usually let invaders get away alive.  
  
Soon enough, the stretch of rocks and boulders ended, and a thicket greeted me. I gave a slight groan in my aversion of forests but proceeded on. The grove of trees and bushes proved to be especially unkind to me, as if it disliked me in return. I made a great deal of noise in thrashing around to get the prickly branches to let go of me. I have no idea how the elves can walk so stealthily through such conditions. I don't know if it is the result of some enchantment or whether they simply found a way to live in harmony with the forests. Perhaps they somehow flew around when no one was looking. I was joking, of course, but the thought brought a grin to my face. I don't think the thicket found the thought so amusing, for I immediately got swatted by another branch in the face. I gave a kind of growl and shoved it out of the way.  
  
Fortunately, the thicket began to clear up as I walked further in. I suppose these inner parts had less shrubbery due to a lack of available light. I gave a small thanks for that mercy and trudged on.  
  
I continued walking through this environment for a good twenty minutes when I suddenly heard a very loud sound that seemed like a half roar, half howl.  
  
"A drake!" I immediately thought.  
  
Then the air was pierced by a second howl/roar, and I realized the sound was coming from behind me, down below. I stood there thinking. That didn't make sense. The drakes lived in the mountains above. Why would the howl be coming from the valley below? Could it have circled round, spotted me, and be coming back up? I didn't think that entirely made sense either, but I decided to keep moving up the mountain and away from the sound. It was too dark in this thicket to see anything coming. I wanted to get back out into a clearing again where I could turn around and see the beast's approach and ready myself. Naturally, I'd stay near the edge of the clearing, so I'd have the option of diving back in for protection if the drake came near me. Of course, I had no idea what the drake would do then. For all I know it might follow me in, despite being so large. I doubt those prickly branches would slow it down very much.  
  
Another howl/roar was emitted from behind me. To my horror it was closer this time. I reached down to my side to feel the hilt of my sword. A thought suddenly crossed my mind. Perhaps I should have brought THE sword. It would have given me the extra strength I'd need to truly defend myself. Then I shook my head at the stupid idea. No, its power was too much for me to handle at the moment. After all, part of the reason I had decided to do this crazy hunt had been to get away from that sword. The other part of it had been to eventually assist the elves in their battles and help them protect Rivendell.  
  
A fourth howl/roar jarred me out of my thoughts. This one had been even closer and got me running. I jogged past the trees, a little less concerned about the branches which hit me now. My backpack got snagged on a branch just then, as if the forest wanted me to be this creature's meal. I quickly untangled myself and kept running.  
  
There was yet another howl/roar. This one was enlengthened and lasted for a good five seconds. I was rather confused at this point. If it were coming from a drake, wouldn't it have reached me by now by flying so fast through the air? Besides, the longer bellow this time had given me a better idea of where it was coming from. It was definitely coming from the forest itself, not the air. Why would a drake be coming at me by charging through the forest? Why not fly? Now I started to realize it might not be a drake. What could it be then? It was definitely not orcs, that's for sure. Could it be a troll? I'd never been told of any in these parts, although that's never a guarantee.  
  
I quickened my pace and almost stumbled a few times over protruding rocks through the damp soil of the forest floor. All of the sudden, I became aware of a constant sound somewhere far behind me. It was like running water, but I was fairly sure I was too far away from the stream which flowed through the bottom of the valley for it to be that. It only grew louder as the seconds went by. Whatever it was, it was gaining on me. I was sprinting now, trying my best to watch my footing while not losing any speed. Another howl/roar was given by the mystery creature, this time very loud and much closer.  
  
"Shoot," I thought. "Why's this thing after me? Surely there's much more appetizing meals out there than myself." I remembered the dwarven rune and wondered if that had anything to do with this. I found myself cursing the fact that I didn't bother to learn any dwarven, dwarvish, whatever you call it.  
  
Now I could distinctly hear the sounds of crashing trees and branches being ripped apart. I figured that's what the water sound had actually been, only I couldn't make it out before. There was definitely a very wrathful creature behind me, for it didn't seem to give the trees and bushes any mercy as it speed through the forest. As it got closer, it sounded as if the thing were trying to smash down a whole section of the forest. It gave another howl/roar, sending goosebumps down my spine. I swear I saw the trees themselves sway slightly in response to the creature's call, as if afraid of what was coming. Then again, perhaps it wasn't the cry of this beast but the ground itself. As I ran now, I felt the ground tremble. One thing was for sure. This thing was most certainly not a troll or a drake. It was definitely large. Very large.  
  
I started looking up around me as I ran. The thought had occurred to me that I could climb up a tree and hide out there. Then I realized these trees were far too small and short. Even if I located one which could support my weight, this creature was probably so big that it could reach up and swallow the whole tree, eating me like a piece of meat on a stick. The crashing sound of trees was getting very loud now, and I could also hear a kind of "swish-swish" sound, as if it were moving from side to side. "What the...?" I thought, but I didn't really think about it any further, as I was running for my life at the particular moment. As if the beast could sense my fear, it let loose another howl/roar. It was unbearably loud, and I got the feeling it was right on my heels. What a peculiar thing adrenaline does to the body in a life or death situation, for I started sprinting much faster than I've ever sprinted before. In addition, I started wondering whether I should throw away my backpack. It was full of vital supplies, yes, but the supplies would do me no good if I were dead.  
  
Thankfully, my luck improved. Light came from between the trees in front of me, and I made a wild dash for it. The thicket became much denser again, but I charged on as if the branches weren't there. I distinctly felt them scratch my face and cut my hands, yet I hardly cared at this point. I crashed through the tree barrier into a clearing of more rocks. I'd forgotten their unstable properties, and I almost immediately fell down. I got back up as fast as I could. There was a slight throbbing sensation in my right ankle, but I ignored it and continued running. I kept looking back over my shoulders to see just what me foe was.  
  
Suddenly, the whole thicket behind me shuddered, and the beast emerged with a horrifying roar. I stopped running and completely turned around to face it.  
  
Only a hundred metres away was a gigantic wurm with an equally large mouth full of very long and very sharp teeth. I got the feeling it wasn't a herbivore.  
  
Now keep in mind this was not some overgrown earthworm I was dealing with. It looked very much like a dragon without wings or legs. It was also just as big, if not larger.  
  
The wurm had stopped at the edge of the clearing, staring straight at me with its slitted eyes. Then it looked to the ground below it and back at me. It seemed to be growling deeply while doing so. Yet again, it looked down to the ground below it. All of the sudden, I realized it must prefer the forest floor over rough, uneven surfaces. My running out into the rocky clearing had been a good move.  
  
As if the creature had sensed that very thought of mine and wanted to dash away my hopes, it quickly looked back towards me. Then it gave a low grunt and started slowly moving again. I started muttering some very bad words and ran in the opposite direction. Then I noticed that the clearing ended not far ahead and forest began again. I would lose my advantage there, so I started running to my left, straight up the mountain slope. It was very hard, and I kept slipping on the rocks and cutting up my jeans. I caught glances of dark red stains near the cuts, too. I had obviously been landing on those sharp rocks much harder than I thought. Nevertheless, I scampered up the slope with renewed strength.  
  
I looked back over my shoulder to discover, to my horror, the wurm moving at a much faster pace than before. It seemed to have an expression of annoyance on its face (don't ask me how I determined that) at having to travel over the rocks, but it seemed positively motivated to catch me for lunch. And it was gaining on me again. With a grim look all over my face and a constant stream of swears coming out my mouth, I trudged up the mountain while pulling my sword out of its sheath. I don't know if it was the adrenaline kicking in again, but the sword seemed extremely light (even for an elven weapon), and I was ready to defend myself.  
  
Then I remembered the flute Arwen had given me. I reached into the right hand pocket of my jean jacket and started fiddling around in there as I ran. I wasn't sure how much help birds were going to be against this nasty beast, and I remember Arwen saying its effectiveness would be much less the farther I was from Rivendell. Well, right now I was pretty darn far from the mountain valley which contained the peaceful elven home. Still, considering my current plight, it was worth a shot.  
  
Suddenly, there came another shriek above and to my right. "Oh my God!" I thought. "There's a second one coming for me!" While still running, I looked over, and I'm glad I did.  
  
Far above, there came a dark blue winged creature which glided effortlessly towards my position. It was a drake! Question was, what did it want? Was it going to assist the wurm in the slaying of me and split the resulting feast? (Although, in reality, I'd hardly call myself a feast - more like a snack or an appetizer for these large creatures.)  
  
My question was soon answered when the drake turned away from me and headed straight for the wurm. The wurm stopped right where it was to stare at the drake menacingly. Right before it was about to ram into the wurm's mouth, the drake tore away and flew up into the sky again. The wurm gave a terribly loud roar in frustration. The drake then made an arc high above and dived again at the wurm. Yet again, the drake seemed to taunt the wurm. It moved away at the last minute, and the wurm missed it and took a chomp out of the empty air.  
  
There was only one difference this time. The drake instead made a beeline for me. My eyes widened in panic, and I ran in the opposite direction.  
  
"Oh no!" I thought. "The drake attacked the wurm for the sole purpose of stealing its meal - me!"  
  
As soon as it was right behind me, I made a dive for the ground which failed miserably. The drake caught me in its talons and dragged me up into the sky with it. Fortunately, it had wanted to carry me away, not kill me then and there. It could have done so quite easily by shifting its talons into a position such that the sharp ends would have penetrated my back. No, it had purposefully made the effort to capture me alive.  
  
As we flew away, the wurm gave another round of howls and roars before moving back into the forest.  
  
"Huh," I said out loud. "Good riddance to you too!"  
  
The drake heard my comment and gave a kind of huff sound in response.  
  
"Um... thanks," I said, with some genuine sincerity in my voice.  
  
The drake only gave another, lower huff in reply to this. I still didn't know if it was truly saving me or whether it had only plucked me up for a late brunch. I stared down at my hands. The cold wind generated by the flapping of the drake's wings had turned them a purplish blue colour. My right hand still clutched my sword. Realizing that attacking the drake while in mid-air would be a fatal mistake if it dropped me, I put it back in its sheath. Besides, I'm not sure how much damage I could do. It wasn't like I was an expert swordsman, and I'd never had any experience in fighting drakes before. To make matters worse, my body was getting rather stiff from the cold wind up here, and I was already cut up with scratches and such all over. Those factors greatly reduced my ability to fight with full strength at the moment.  
  
Eventually, the drake came down to a cave in the side of the mountain, dropped me off, and pushed me into it with the edges of its wings. It stood at the entrance, giving me no where to go but further into the cavern. I slowly walked further into the darkness, bumping into walls occasionally. The drake followed me in but did not encounter the same difficulties. I began to wonder whether it could actually see in the dim interior or whether it knew the way by memory.  
  
Suddenly, the drake clutched my jacket with the tiny little claw on the end of its wing, halting my advance. I heard pebbles banging against rock walls far below me. I knelt down to feel the ground around me. Less than a foot away from me, the rocky floor gave way to what felt like a cliff, and by the sounds of the pebbles, a very tall one. I shuddered and took several steps back, ramming into the belly of the drake. It gave another one of its deep huffing sounds, and I could feel the warmth of its breath against my neck. Not sure what to do, I walked slightly forward again.  
  
With a rather violent huff, as if scolding me, it reached out with one of its talons and wrapped it around my entire waist. Being rather slim, this was easily done. Then it pulled me back rather roughly.  
  
With another huff, it suddenly moved forward. Hopping on the other talon while kind of dragging me along with the other, it made a dash for the ledge. I gave a yelp as I felt my feet drop away from solid ground. It spread out its wings, and we sailed through the air for several seconds. My panic gave way to delight as I felt the cool air blowing past my face. I also somehow felt secure with the firm grip of the drake's talon around my waist, knowing that it would not let me go; I would not fall.  
  
The feeling didn't last forever, though. I was brought out of my pleasant thoughts quite abruptly as my shins banged into the opposite ledge of the abyss we had just crossed. Moments later, the drake landed on level ground and let me go.  
  
"Ow, ow, ow," I proclaimed, rubbing my shins while getting back up. As if that wasn't enough, my shoulder decided to announce to my brain that it was real sore, too. As I moved to rub my shoulder and figure out why I was feeling pain there, the drake swatted me with the end of its wing, motioning me to keep moving. I now trailed it, using its heavy breathing and huffing sounds as guidance of where to go. Nevertheless, I had the misfortune of running into a few more sharp turns in the cave walls and stumbling over bumpy outcroppings in the floor. And every time there came a thump sound of me slamming into something or the corresponding muttering of curses from my mouth, the drake gave a loud huff back at me. It even hit me lightly in the chest twice with the end of its tail. I knew it was a playful gesture, though. Had it hit me with the full force of its tail, I would have flown backwards with a complete set of broken ribs. I suppose it was somewhat like a person saying, "You fool!", and slapping your head.  
  
As we trudged on, I looked back to where the ledge was (though I couldn't actually see it in the darkness). It had dawned on me why the drake had picked this particular cave as its den. No doubt many daring warriors had ventured into drake's caves to try and slay them while they slept. The obvious defence of the drakes had been to find natural ways to thwart such attacks. The poor soul who did not know of the abyss would fall to his death, never getting within even an arrow shot's distance of the drake itself. I shuddered slightly at the thought. That poor soul could have been me. Still, I had an even greater respect for the drakes now, or at least this one. It takes an intelligent mind to think of a tactic like that.  
  
Presently, the drake stopped. Fortunately, I stopped this time and did not run into it. I groped at the stone walls and found this place to be larger than the tunnels which led here. The drake seemed to be fiddling with something in the corner. I started to approach it to find out what was going on when a stream of fire illuminated the room. Thankfully, it didn't come in my direction, but I still jumped back a metre or two with my heart beating rather speedily. As I took a closer look at what the drake was doing, I noticed that it had lit up a torch on the wall. It did the same with two other torches on opposite walls and then crouched down on one side of the room. Huh. Home sweet home. I started to approach it again, but its head came darting up and it gave a very loud huff, mixed with a roar. I stopped right where I was, and it stared at me with its beady eyes for a while before laying its head back down and closing its eyes. It gave another small huff and wisps of smoke rose from its nostrils.  
  
"Okay then," I muttered to myself while taking off my backpack and setting it on the ground. "I'll see you in the morning."  
  
I lay down on the hard floor across from the drake and tried to find a position where I was least uncomfortable. I never really found any ideal position on the stone floor, and I never really got to sleep. Besides, what was this? The drake walked around in the dark cave by day and lit up the torches when it slept? How could it sleep with all the light? I found I certainly couldn't, though that didn't really matter with the hard floor and all. Giving a deep sigh, I closed my eyes and tried to ignore the pain from all the injuries I had attained today. 


	11. Neglis

Disclaimer: I don't own Lord of the Rings, nor any of its related material.  
  
This is my first fanfic for Lord of the Rings. Actually, this would be my first fanfic period. So anyways, enjoy the readin'!  
Also, I would like to thank Shea and Lauren for assisting me in Elven names and Sindarin translations.  
  
  
11. NEGLIS  
  
  
Admittedly, though I didn't actually sleep, I felt somewhat rested when the drake came over and nudged me. I blinked a couple times and asked rhetorically, "So what's for breakfast?" I thought, right after that, "Not me I hope", but I'd gotten the feeling by now the drake hadn't brought me all this way just to devour me. It gave me a weird stare and moved back towards the far wall. From there, it motioned for me to come over.  
  
As I strode over to its side of the cavern, I noticed it was etching something onto the wall with a smaller piece of rock. I came right up beside the drake to look at it closely once it had finished. There were six characters, all in dwarven runes. Great. The drake was now pointing at it, looking to me, and then pointing to itself. It repeated this several times.  
  
"I can't read dwarven runes, sorry," I told it. It kind of frowned (it looked like a frown, anyways), and then started the process of pointing to the runes and then itself again.  
  
"Okay, okay," I said, sighing. "Lemme take a look at this." I moved closer to the runes and looked over them carefully. "Um... This is an 'O', right?" I asked, looking to the drake expectantly.  
  
It shook its head and gave a huff in frustration. Hurriedly, I tried again.  
  
"Um... a 'V'?"  
  
It shook its head again and gave an even louder, more agitated huff.  
  
I kind of winced and asked, "Uh, you couldn't just write this in English, could you?"  
  
It then brought its head right down to level with mine and gave a very sudden huff, like a tutor getting indignant when the student isn't paying attention.  
  
"Okay..." I exhaled quickly.  
  
We went on like that for several hours until I had gotten the correct letters by trial and error. I was certainly glad this drake was so patient. Then I remembered it had been pointing to itself and made a quick conclusion.  
  
"Neglis?" I asked. "Your name is Neglis?"  
  
The drake nodded vigorously. If it had ever been pleased up until now, this was the only time it showed its satisfaction.  
  
"Pleased to meet you, Neglis," I said with a smile.  
  
Neglis lost his (I've always assumed Neglis is a 'he') pleased look and gained quite the opposite expression. I learned from that point on Neglis disliked needless pleasantries. He preferred getting straight to the point and sticking to business. I actually found I liked this trait. In any case, I'd felt the "Pleased to meet you" bit was a little stupid anyways and told him so afterwards. Realizing that I also preferred to bluntly but honestly say what I meant, I told him why I had come here.  
  
"Uh, Neglis, I came here for a specific reason," I stated, and the drake seemed to listen carefully while I got into my long explanation of how I had arrived in Middle Earth and what my mission was upon arriving.  
  
I told him about the disappearance of my friends in my world and how I had so foolishly decided to use the power of the Fire Relic to get to the realm of which they'd gone to so I could rescue them and almost gotten myself vaporized in the process.  
  
I told him of then meeting the elves and discovering that my friends were all safe with them. I told him how they had so graciously helped me out once I was there and how I wanted to repay their kindness by coming back with a way to help them defend against their enemies. I told him of how I had left in secret to locate a drake to help me fight.  
  
Lastly, I told him of the sword and how it had reacted to me. I felt it was especially important that I mention the hilt's transformation where the engraving of the drake showed up.  
  
I then asked for his help in all of this.  
  
Neglis just stood there for a few seconds. I got the feeling he understood English very well, for he seemed to be thinking over what I'd said. Finally, he nodded with a pleased look on his face (It's hard to explain how a drake can look pleased. It's just something you'd have to see for yourself.) and silently agreed to help me in my endeavour.  
  
I had to warn Neglis right then and there, of course, that I had the habit of doing risky things on my own and had nearly met death on several occasions. I said that last bit with a slight grin. Neglis also seemed to find that tidbit of information slightly amusing. I suspect he was thinking of the incident with the wurm yesterday, my adventure with the Fire Relic, and how I had come all this way without informing any of the others (with the exception of Arwen).  
  
He told me he would allow me to ride on his back and fight with me, for I seemed to be the "rare type of human" which truly understood that a drake was not just a mere animal, but was to be respected and treated as an equal. He told me all this through those dwarven runes again (don't ask how long that took). Besides, he told me he'd taken a liking to me for my bravery. I pointed out that might actually just be stupidity, and he just seemed to smirk (in his drake way) and said nothing further to that. 


	12. Return to Rivendell

Disclaimer: I don't own Lord of the Rings, nor any of its related material.  
  
This is my first fanfic for Lord of the Rings. Actually, this would be my first fanfic period. So anyways, enjoy the readin'!  
Also, I would like to thank Shea and Lauren for assisting me in Elven names and Sindarin translations.  
  
In addition, I mention Richard Dean Anderson in this chapter. In case you don't know the talented actor, he appears in Stargate SG-1 and also played MacGyver. For more information on him, visit the prose section of my site:  
http://www.geocities.com/guardiancentauri  
  
  
12. RETURN TO RIVENDELL  
  
  
Neglis and I had now spent several days of what you could call training. I had learned how to properly hold on and such while he flew.  
  
I would like to state here and now that drakes do indeed have a sense of humour (or at least Neglis does). One day while we were flying low over a small lake, Neglis, with a grin, did a quick roll in the air. I lost my grip, and... Well, I'm sure you can guess what happened next. I sure learned to hold on tight after that, believe me.  
  
Anyways, Neglis also told me a little of drake history. Although he had not been hatched at the time, the evil Lord Sauron had manipulated many of his ancestors to do dirty deeds during his original conquest of Middle Earth three thousand years ago. Some had done so willingly (of which Neglis seemed to say with disgust) while others had been forced into slavery by the dark magic of Sauron's rings. Neglis spoke of great atrocities that had been done by his people under Sauron's control. The drakes would attack and burn the cities until the entire sky was dark with smoke. Then Sauron's ground forces would move in and easily slaughter those few who had managed to survive the aerial assault.  
  
Then Sauron had deemed the drakes too much of a threat to him, so he had his forces attack and destroy drake nests and kill all mature ones they could find. In retaliation, the drakes fought back, but they were battling against superior numbers. Eventually, the few that survived retreated back towards the northern mountains and started using such tactics as the cave abysses to protect their nests from intruders. In addition, it was Sauron's betrayal that had led most drakes to dislike humanoid creatures in general and stay away from them. Those were dark days for the drakes, just as they had been for most of the peoples of Middle Earth.  
  
As a result, Neglis told me he would like nothing better than to be given the chance to make up for his people's wrong doings by defending the innocent. He also admitted he wanted to take vengeance upon evil by making it pay for what it did to his people so long ago. It did not matter whether it was Sauron's forces or not; he wanted to wipe evil clean from the land and stop it from disturbing the peace in Middle Earth. Though we both knew that evil would never be completely vanquished, we also knew we had to try to at least keep it at bay. Neglis told me he had somehow knew he would get his chance to do all this the moment he saw me in that clearing, being attacked by the wurm. Though neither of us believed in destiny and that things were written before they happened, we were both glad the universe had somehow put us together for our mutual benefit. In addition, I could not help but wonder if this had all partly been the sword's doing.  
  
And it was now upon this very morning that we set off for Rivendell to begin our mission to help the elves. As the sun rose up from the eastern horizon into the sky, Neglis flew over the mountains and down towards the south. The cool wind blew across my face, and my jean jacket (now quite torn and stained I might add) danced about in the breeze. I felt good in that my gambles had paid off, and I would finally be able to help my friends, from my world and this one, in defeating their enemies.  
  
"Besides," I thought with a grin, "whoever said I wasn't a mischievous individual just looking for a little adventure?"  
  
At one point, we passed over a large lake which had a human village at the end of it. We made the mistake of flying over it; the people there started screaming when they saw our approach and ran into their homes. Whoops. Sometimes I forgot drakes and dragons were one of the more scary components of legend. Nevertheless, Neglis and I had a good laugh from that incident. I know it's mean, but what can I say? I was having the time of my life here.  
  
Less than two hours later (my watch was one of the few things that had survived my quest remarkably well) we were flying over the forests surrounding Rivendell. It was amazing to think it had taken me twelve days to cross that same distance on foot. The elves were as watchful as ever, for we heard the blare of warning horns as Rivendell came into view. Scouts must have spotted us and somehow gotten the message all the way back.  
  
Neglis looked back at me, and I knew what his concern was.  
  
"Yes, I know," I reassured him. "I'll make sure they don't shoot arrows at you... much."  
  
Neglis shot me a look and a rather volatile huff.  
  
I grinned and replied, "Okay, okay. Just don't scratch any of their buildings' spires with your talons when you fly over, all right? Go ahead and do a few circles round the city, though. That'll really impress 'em."  
  
Neglis shook his head in disbelief and continued a standard descent.  
  
"Oh, you're no fun," I remarked.  
  
Neglis responded this time by giving a twirl. Fortunately, I had learned my lesson from the lake and held on. He grinned at my resilience, and I laughed. Oh my... What would Elrond think of this? Probably something starting with "Foolish men..." Poor fellow. He needs to get out more and have some fun. I started wondering if he would accept a ride with me on Neglis. Then I started wondering whether Neglis would try to bite off his head at the prospect of carrying someone other than me on his back. Hmm... interesting scenario...  
  
Then I started realizing how much he must have worried about my safety after I had left. I hoped he wouldn't freak out too much when I got back. I'd never wanted to cause him more trouble than he already had.  
  
I was pulled out of my thoughts when we came rushing down to Rivendell. Neglis did indeed circle the city, but it was more for the practical purpose of slowing down than to impress the elves. Down below, I saw dozens of elves running about with quivers at ready and often glancing up at the sky to keep track of our position. I immediately started waving down to them and shouting, but it seemed to have no effect. I'm not even sure they noticed me. And they say elves' hearing is so much better than humans.  
  
Neglis gave me another look, basically saying, "This isn't working. Shout louder, you fool! A lot louder!" I think he would've given off a roar himself, but he fortunately realized that would probably do more harm than good by only putting the elves further into panic mode.  
  
"Yo! Down below!" I yelled at the top of my lungs and leaning over the side of Neglis as far as I dared. "It's me! James! Put down your bows and let's have a cup of tea, I say!"  
  
I swear Neglis rolled his eyes. We had circled Rivendell at least four times now, and we were both growing impatient.  
  
"Hello!" I continued. "It's really me, James! The drake's on our side! Put down your bows!" Arrows started whizzing past us from all directions, and Neglis was really getting pissed off now, so I switched to plan B.  
  
"Okay, screw this. Land on the far side of the town beyond that building there," I told Neglis while pointing, "and I'll get off and explain everything to the elves. Watch the trees."  
  
Neglis rushed down to where I had indicated, and flew a little close to some trees on purpose I believe. In any case, we both got down to the ground all right, but my jean jacket had picked up some souvenir leaves along the way as well as some more rips.  
  
I jumped off and brushed off the leaves. Swinging my finger from side to side, I said, "Tsk, tsk, Neglis." He gave his usual huff in response.  
  
"Aw shoot," I muttered. "Where's my sword? Did I still have it before we flew over Rivendell?"  
  
Neglis gave a sort of snort which I had learned by experience was basically a snicker.  
  
"Thanks a lot buddy," I said with a grin, then started looking around in the fallen leaves.  
  
I didn't have much time to do that, though. The elves came rushing over, bows raised and loaded with some very sharp tipped arrows. I put up both of my arms.  
  
"Whoa, whoa," I exclaimed. "Watch where you point those things. It's me, James." I pointed behind me. "That's Neglis. He's a friend. Now put those bows down, damnit."  
  
When the elves didn't proceed to do so, Neglis started to emit a low growl which certainly didn't help. With fear on their faces, they started aiming at Neglis more than me.  
  
I jumped right in front of him and yelled, "Hey! Did you not hear me? He's making that noise 'cause you're making him feel cornered! Now put the bows down!" I was getting a lot more serious now, because I didn't want Neglis to get hurt due to my actions (although I'd probably be the one more hurt by those arrows).  
  
Fortunately, Elrond ran up at that moment.  
  
After staring at me and Neglis for a few moments and rubbing his brow, Elrond commanded, "Put down your weapons. They are friends." Upon saying "friends", Elrond looked me straight in the eye. I couldn't help but smirk a little. Thankfully, though, the elves put down their bows.  
  
Elrond gave a deep sigh and stated quite loudly, "Does all mankind feel the need to disappear on their hosts and do something heroic?" At my blank stare, Elrond only seemed to scowl more.  
  
"I'm sorry," I said sincerely to Elrond. "This was something I had to do."  
  
"Did you think it was a wise idea to run around without guides of any sort in a land you do not know of with beasts and beings which could easily kill you at any time?" he retorted. "Did you consider the possible consequences of your actions?"  
  
"Actually, I did," I said gravely. "Granted, I didn't know of many of the threats here, and it was definitely a foolish move on my part. But I couldn't tell you of my plans. You would never have let me go if I told you I had been going to find a drake."  
  
Elrond seemed to grind his teeth. "You're darn right I wouldn't have-"  
  
Just then two more elves ran up. The lead one interrupted with a "Sir" when they each did a double take at the sight of Neglis. Elrond did a slight rolling of his eyes and prodded them to go on.  
  
"We couldn't find them, sir," the lead elf continued while keeping one eye on Neglis. "We looked all over. They're not here."  
  
Elrond seemed to be in a state of total frustration and started muttering, "Stubborn little...", but then stopped himself. He looked back to me and said, "Do you see what you've started?"  
  
"Huh?" I said, completely baffled in what he meant by that. "What's going on?"  
  
"Your friends, Shea and Lauren, decided to pull the same stunt you did. They snuck out this morning at the crack of dawn," Elrond firmly told me. "I don't suppose they're off to find drakes too?!"  
  
"Oy..." I said very slowly.  
  
"Legolas, Arwen, and several others are leading search parties right now," Elrond told me. "We can only hope they find them soon."  
  
"So that's where my man is," I said, and then realized that was a really, really stupid thing to say in a situation like this. I bit my lip and lost the smile. "I'm going after them." At that, I made a run for Neglis, but I didn't get very far.  
  
"No!" Elrond called out very loudly. "No you don't! I'm not having any more of you running around to who knows where in the forest."  
  
"I won't be going into the forest," I said. "I'll be flying high above it."  
  
"And should you fall off...?" he asked with a terrible frown on his face.  
  
Neglis came to my defence at that moment with a rather snarky huff. Elrond looked back to the drake and made a face. Many of the other elves raised their bows again. Elrond immediately put his arm out to the side to tell them to lower their weapons. The elves did so slowly.  
  
"You are not leaving," he commanded. "I will not permit it."  
  
"Look, I know how you feel-" I began.  
  
"Do you?" he asked hastily.  
  
I gave him a nice big Richard Dean Anderson kind of wince/smirk and said, "Somewhat. Listen, I started this mess, and I have a responsibility to clean it up. Besides, now that Neglis is with me, I know I can make a difference, even if my combat skills are minimal-"  
  
"Or nonexistent," some elf in the background stated quickly.  
  
I whipped my head to where the comment had come from, but I couldn't locate the individual who had said it. I turned back to Elrond and continued, "I'm going one way or another, but I respect you, I really do, and I would rather have your approval in all of this. I promise I'll be careful. Neglis and I will stick to the air unless we find them. There'll be no landings otherwise, no chance for some beast to come along and eat me, okay?"  
  
Elrond seemed to give this some very serious thought. Finally, he said, "Fine. But take Aldarion with you." The elf he pointed to looked from Elrond to me and then to Neglis in a state of fear. He looked like he'd just been sentenced to death. After a moment's hesitation, he stepped forward, nodded to me, and followed me to Neglis.  
  
Neglis stared straight at Aldarion and emitted a low growl. Aldarion halted behind me, and his eyes grew wider than before.  
  
"Now c'mon, Neglis," I prodded. "Just this once. Let him ride on you. We could use his help anyways."  
  
Neglis didn't seem to agree, but he finally allowed this arrangement. Aldarion climbed onto Neglis' back behind me, and we were zooming away from Rivendell at breakneck speed soon enough. 


	13. The Battle

Disclaimer: I don't own Lord of the Rings, nor any of its related material.  
  
This is my first fanfic for Lord of the Rings. Actually, this would be my first fanfic period. So anyways, enjoy the readin'!  
Also, I would like to thank Shea and Lauren for assisting me in Elven names and Sindarin translations.  
  
  
13. THE BATTLE  
  
  
I had been having Neglis fly low over the trees so we would best be able to spot Legolas' group. Besides, I wanted to see the look of surprise in the other's faces when we arrived, and it would be even better if we appeared to come out of no where.  
  
Neglis seemed to be thinking this whole effort was futile. He looked back at me in a way which begged the question of why Legolas was so important anyways.  
  
"Legolas is the man," I said with a grin. "He's one of the best archers around, and he cooks up a mean steak to boot."  
  
Neglis whipped his head around with a confused huff. I'll translate it as, "What the hell?" I think Aldarion was about ready to say the same thing.  
  
"I was joking, of course," I replied. "I doubt he cooks much at all. I don't even know whether they have cattle in Middle Earth. Hmm... No steaks... That would seriously suck. These poor people don't know what they're missing."  
  
Neglis was shaking his head again, but I think he inwardly enjoyed my wise cracks. I think Aldarion was about to ask me what a cattle was when our ears all picked up the same distinctive sounds which demanded our immediate attention.  
  
From somewhere below us, we heard the cries of battle and the sound of metal on metal. We all started searching for the source. We soon found it. Legolas and his party had located Shea and Lauren, but they had also run into a particularly large band of orcs.  
  
"Legolas, my friend," I stated to the air, "you just can't avoid those pesky orcs, can you?" Then, gaining a more serious look on my face, I said, "Let's go, Neglis!"  
  
Neglis' eyes widened at the prospect of engaging in battle, and he went in on the dive. I had to tighten my grip significantly. Aldarion gave a little yelp and almost fell off. Fortunately, I grabbed his arm before that could happen.  
  
"Neglis, remember!" I yelled in the howls and whistles of the wind rushing up against us. "Attack the orcs and try not to hit any of the elves or men or dwarves or whoever else Legolas has on his side, okay? And we have to get some seat belts or something here! This is nuts!"  
  
Neglis' neck was tense, and I got no response that I could see. Great.  
  
The ground rushed up to us, and in mere seconds, we were on them. Neglis veered down into the chaos that was occurring in the clearing below us. Neglis knew what to do and swept into action. He immediately used his immense claws to tear apart several unfortunate orcs as we flew by, only metres from the ground. All around us, the enemy's forces had taken notice of our dramatic entrance rather quickly and were scattering and trying to form some sort of defence against us while not getting in the way of Neglis' sharp talons and defiant maw filled with equally sharp teeth. I could even see glimpses of everyone raising their arms and steadying themselves as I quickly darted my head around, looking for Legolas and his people. Neglis was producing a small gale with his large leathery wings as he flew in loops around all the combatants. I could not help but smile at the nice tactical advantage we had of being in the air where they could not touch us. At least, it was highly unlikely. I suppose there is always the threat of a lucky shot with an arrow.  
  
I suddenly twisted my neck around, for I had located Legolas and the others. They had been retreating into the forest before, against the overwhelming advance of the orcs. Now that the orcs were spreading apart in a very unorganized fashion, I saw Legolas and his team taking the opportunity to make their way back into the center of the clearing. The orcs were too busy keeping an eye on Neglis to see their attacks coming. Even Shea and Lauren were taking swings at orcs with their swords. I'm sure Elrond would be so pleased.  
  
I had Neglis land on the far side of the clearing, where Legolas' party had been retreating to. As I had expected, the orcs immediately took the opportunity to attack now that we were grounded. Neglis welcomed them by viciously swinging out his long tail, catching two unsuspecting members of the vanguard right in the chest. They went hurtling several metres backwards and landed without getting back up.  
  
"Good shot," I thought.  
  
This dramatic show of power delayed the orcs' charge, but only for a few seconds. You see, it appears the orkish mind is rather small and doesn't do a lot of thinking in general. I suppose that's why they are so easily manipulated and commanded. In any case, they renewed their attack, but those few seconds were just enough time for Neglis to come all the way around to face them. He steadied himself, and I knew exactly what he planned to do next, so I also made sure I was holding on tight.  
  
"You'd better hang on," I called back to Aldarion. He did so without questioning.  
  
As soon as the enemy forces were within a few metres of us, Neglis let loose a very large and very hot stream of fire into their ranks. Instantly, the front members of the attacking force fell to the ground, lifeless. Others behind tried to run around the hot geyser of fire (which Neglis swayed from side to side to catch stragglers), but were received by Legolas and the others with a steady volley of arrows. In less than a minute, there were easily forty bodies in front of us. The remaining orcs finally decided a tactical retreat would be advisable and ran in the opposite direction. I heard the men in the party give sighs of relief, but it was at least two more minutes before Legolas put down his bow and moved towards the rest of us. I guess he had been listening to make sure the orcs didn't decide to come back. Still, he didn't seem any less tense than he was two minutes ago.  
  
"James!" Shea cried out as she ran towards me. Lauren gave a wave from farther behind. Her shirt had a large stain of orc blood on it. Nice touch.  
  
Anyways, Neglis saw Shea running towards us and swung his neck out to give a huff and a little smoke arose from his mouth. Shea stopped dead in her tracks.  
  
"It's all right, Neglis," I said. "She's a friend."  
  
Neglis still didn't seem to trust her, but he turned his head away from Shea. Giving another huff, he kept a wary eye on her, though. I gave a slight smile at this. After all, drakes aren't the most sociable creatures. They stow away in their mountain caves to keep away from people. I suppose they find people in general to be a nuisance. I was glad to be an exception to that rule.  
  
I jumped down from Neglis' back at that moment and walked over to Shea. She immediately gave me a bear hug, muttering things repeatedly about how she was so glad I was all right. I couldn't help but smile at the display of affection. Then I looked over Shea's shoulder to see Legolas, the other elves, and two other human soldiers staring our way, blankly. Upon further observation, though, I realized they were all in fact staring at Neglis. I let go of Shea and moved towards Legolas.  
  
"What?" I called out. "Never seen a drake before?" I rather large smirk crept up my face while saying the last bit.  
  
Legolas gave me a glance and then went back to staring at Neglis. I don't think Neglis liked the attention, because he gave a rather volatile huff from behind me. Legolas and the others recoiled a little, as if the mere sound had forced them back.  
  
"It's true I guess," I thought with a grin. "The huff is worse than the bite."  
  
Presently, Legolas' eyes became a little less pancake sized, and he was about to say something to me when one of the human warriors proclaimed, "You tamed a drake?" He had his sword in hand and seemed ready to defend himself in the event Neglis should happen to bear down on him. Even more amusing was the look on his face which said to me, "Are you crazy?" I thought in response, "Perhaps."  
  
Anyways, I don't believe Neglis liked the concept of being "tamed", for he gave a very loud huff at the comment. Needless to say, it wasn't an appreciative huff. The human soldier took a step back in grim response.  
  
"He's a friend," I said to the human warrior with a smile. Then getting back to the seriousness of the situation, I looked to Legolas and stated, "Well, now that everyone's found everyone else, let's all get back to Rivendell and give Elrond's high blood pressure a break, shall we?"  
  
"Yes," Legolas agreed, finally taking his eyes off Neglis and focusing on me. "Yes, we should leave at once, in case the orcs regroup and head back here."  
  
I heard a slight huff behind me from Neglis, and I knew he was hoping they would.  
  
I smiled again, somewhat hoping the same thing, and said, "Right then. You guys start heading back, and we'll fly back to let Elrond know everything's all right." Legolas nodded and I turned around to get back on Neglis. Shea and Lauren gave me waves before heading into the forest with the other elven and human warriors. That one human warrior who had made the "tamed" comment was also going with them, but he was still staring at Neglis as if he didn't dare turn his back on the drake. I chuckled a bit and climbed up onto Neglis.  
  
Before entering the forest himself, Legolas called out to me, "Hey James!"  
  
I turned to my left to look at him. "Yeah?"  
  
"Thanks," he said with a slight smile.  
  
"Aw well shucks," I said, also smiling. "It was nothing." Though I didn't show it, I deeply appreciated his gratitude. It meant a lot to me to receive appraisal of any kind from a great warrior like him.  
  
He gave a nod and headed back into the forest after the others. I was about to have Neglis take off when I noticed Aldarion still standing there.  
  
"Oh yes, that's right," I said. "Climb on board, and we'll head back."  
  
Aldarion gave a wide eyed stare at Neglis again, and suddenly sputtered, "Um... I believe it would best if I went along with the others. There could still be orcs out there, and they could use my help."  
  
I couldn't help but grin and play with his fear of Neglis. "Oh but Elrond's going to throw a fit if I return without you. You'd better come with us."  
  
Aldarion's eyes grew even larger (which I hadn't actually thought was possible), and he replied quickly, "The defence of the human girls takes priority. Elrond will understand that. I must go." He gave a slight nod and ran off into the forest in the direction they had gone.  
  
"Huh," I said with a grin and turned back to Neglis. "Well I guess it's just you and me, Neglis."  
  
Neglis gave an approving huff, and we took off and started heading back to Rivendell. 


	14. A Decision to be Made

Disclaimer: I don't own Lord of the Rings, nor any of its related material.  
  
This is my first fanfic for Lord of the Rings. Actually, this would be my first fanfic period. So anyways, enjoy the readin'!  
Also, I would like to thank Shea and Lauren for assisting me in Elven names and Sindarin translations.  
  
  
14. A DECISION TO BE MADE  
  
  
Much later, after everything had been sorted out and everyone had returned, I was sitting out on the balcony and drinking some more of that stuff that tasted like tea. I began thinking that maybe I should ask someone someday what it was actually called.  
  
Neglis was resting out in the courtyard (as there had been really no other place to put him), and I watched from above and wondered what was to become of us now. I could hardly expect the elves to let Neglis stay here. I'm sure he would be to much of a drain on resources, and I didn't want to impose on them. Besides, I could tell they feared him. The ones that had brought him some meat had walked up to him in jerky motions and finally threw it to him the remainder of the distance, not wanting to take the chance that he might suddenly get up and make them his supper.  
  
And it wasn't fair to Neglis. I couldn't have him live here with all these people. It just wasn't his style, and to tell the truth, I wasn't prepared to stay here with the elves either. Like him, I had to get out into the wild and live by adventure. I had grabbed the bull by the horns now; I wasn't going to just let go and settle down.  
  
The sun was sinking towards the western horizon, and long shadows were cast along the grass in the courtyard. I saw Neglis raise his head slightly as a butterfly bounced around in the air above him. He gave one of his infamous huffs to shoo it away, laid his head back down, and closed his eyes.  
  
Elrond walked up from the library and stood in front of me.  
  
"When you use my books," he said sternly, "could you please at least put them back in the order of which you found them in?" When I displayed an expression of being lost, he told me I had mixed up the positions of two of the drake books I had used before I went on my whole expedition.  
  
I apologized immediately, feeling really selfish for looking through his books without permission too. He waved his hand, actually gave a slight smile, and sat down in a chair. He gazed out at Neglis and seemed to be considering the same things I had been thinking about only moments ago.  
  
"Oh," I said suddenly, and he turned his head around to look at me while I went through jean jacket's right pocket. "Here's that flute Arwen gave me. Turns out I didn't need it." I reached out to give it to him, but he waved his hand again.  
  
"Keep it," he said, looking back out at the courtyard. "I have a feeling you'll need it more than I. You seem to make allies of the air fairly well anyways."  
  
"And of Arwen herself," I said slowly, "I hope I didn't get her in any trouble for all of this. I take full responsibility for everything that has happened. Please don't blame her for any of it."  
  
He shook his head and replied, "No, I don't blame anyone." He gave a deep sigh, still staring out beyond the balcony, and told me, "If anything, I think things have turned out for the better. No serious harm was done. Quite the contrary, you may have saved the lives of your friends and Legolas' entire party. Had you not come to their aid, I'm fairly certain at least one or two of them would have been slain in holding off the orcs while the others retreated." He paused for a moment before continuing, "And that would most likely have been Legolas. He would be the last to leave any battle. So I think it would be safe to say he owes his life to you."  
  
He turned to me with a funny look on his face. "You'd better watch out. Elves do odd and very heroic things when they are indebted to someone. You may just find yourself in a terrible position one day, and Legolas will be there to repay the favour." I almost expected to get a wink from Elrond at that moment, but he didn't and simply returned to viewing the forest. I smiled slightly in having the warm feeling that there would always be someone out there on the battlefield to watch my back. Then I remembered there was one more thing I had to get off my chest.  
  
"There's one last matter," I told Elrond with a grim expression on my face. "It has to do with the sword. That unlocked door you probably found in the library... That was me." And from there, I explained to Elrond the whole story of how the sword had appeared beside me on the bed, so I had taken it back into the library before anyone could notice it was gone and had somehow unlocked the door for me in the process of doing so. I also mentioned that I did this as I had been afraid no one would believe me. Fortunately, Elrond did not seem to doubt what I said at all.  
  
"Do not worry," he stated. "I believe you. From everything I have seen, the sword does indeed seem to be attracted to you just as much as you are attracted to it. Though I was reluctant to say so before now, I believe the sword belongs with you, just as Neglis should remain as your comrade in combat. Just make sure that the next time something like this occurs, you simply tell me instead of sneaking into the library, okay?"  
  
I nodded my head at this.  
  
"Which brings me to why I came here," Elrond continued, and he pulled out the sword from behind him and laid it on the table. It was in a highly decorated sheath now.  
  
"Is this the sheath it was originally in?" I asked, marvelling at the detailed inscriptions on the metal casing and inset jewels.  
  
"No," Elrond replied, "but the council decided that such an amazing sword deserved the dignity of an equally stunning sheath."  
  
I looked up at that moment. "You mean I can keep the sword?" I asked.  
  
"Well, I'll loan it to you, and we'll see what happens," Elrond told me with a smile.  
  
I smiled back and then picked up the sheath. I laid my hand on the hilt and instantly felt that energy and strength flowing through me. Then I pulled the sword out of its sheath, and it was shimmering brightly. The humming sound began, but it remained at a low level and seemed to have a soothing effect, even on Elrond. I knew now that this sword was not evil. If it had been, Elrond's council would never have let me lay my hands on it ever again. Besides, I could feel its golden power, its will to drive away the darkness. I would honour this sword by using it towards a noble cause.  
  
A motion in the courtyard below caught my eye. Neglis had raised his head and cocked it to the side, straining to hear something. Then he noticed me on the balcony and focused his attention on the sword. So he could feel the power of it too. I certainly wasn't surprised.  
  
With a good, warm feeling in my heart, I ensheathed the sword once again and strapped it to my side. Not long after I did so, Neglis lay back down and closed his eyes again. Yes, we both knew this sword would become very important in the years to come.  
  
I looked up to see Elrond staring at me. He wasn't happy, yet he wasn't mad either... What was it? Then I suddenly realized that he knew what I knew - I would be leaving soon and might not return for quite some time - and he was saddened as a result. No words were necessary for this. We had a conversation on the issue simply by looking into each other's eyes. Finally, he spoke again.  
  
"I managed to convince the council to give you more than just the sword," he told me and handed over what looked like fine chain mail.  
  
"Mithril?" I asked in awe.  
  
"Yes," Elrond answered. "Wear it under your clothes, and few blades shall be able to wound you." At that, he indicated my clothes themselves, and he asked if I would like to change my attire.  
  
I glanced down at my torn and tattered denim wear and smiled. "No," I responded. "It's a part of my style, just like the sword and riding on Neglis. Everyone will know me and remember me by the unique garb I wear."  
  
Elrond nodded and smiled also. "Nevertheless, run it by our people before you go," he advised. "They'll mend them and make them stronger than ever."  
  
"All right," I agreed.  
  
Elrond seemed to squint, as if trying to view something far away, and commented, "I wish we could have learned more about the sword's origins. The basis for its powers are still a mystery to us."  
  
"Perhaps I shall find the answers in my future journeys," I told him.  
  
"Perhaps," he acknowledged. "We did learn one vital clue to why this sword has chosen you as its holder, though. The sword was dipped in a special and very secret solution, and it temporarily revealed a new set of runes in the blade."  
  
I launched forward from my seat in sudden attentiveness. "What did it say?"  
  
"It was written in a very ancient form of Sindarin that even I did not know," he told me. "With the help of some old texts and a little intuition, though, we were able to translate it. It said the sword belonged to the dai mord."  
  
"I'm sorry," I said with a slight shaking of my head. "I don't know much Sindarin. What is dai mord?" I struggled to pronounce the term correctly and found it had a nice ring to it.  
  
"It means sky warrior," Elrond replied, and his words sunk in.  
  
"Dai mord," I repeated. "Kinda catchy. I like it."  
  
Elrond smiled at my comment. I looked out to the courtyard to see Shea petting Neglis. He was allowing it, but he didn't seem too happy about it. Or perhaps that was just an outward appearance he put up. I couldn't be too sure about that. At any rate, I had to take note of how courageous Shea was to have come up to him and start touching him. Even the elves had not dared to do so. Lauren ran over and sat down next to Neglis' head which lay in the grass. I turned back to Elrond.  
  
"What of Shea and Lauren?" I asked.  
  
"I have a feeling they have destinies of their own," he responded with a sigh while watching them. "In the meantime, they may stay here as long as this place remains safe."  
  
"I will do everything in my power to make sure it does," I stated boldly.  
  
Elrond nodded, but there seemed to be a very wise part of him which knew that I, nor anyone else, could keep a place safe forever. And I knew that he was of course right. Nevertheless, I had to try, just as he and everyone else would.  
  
"Do me a favour," he added.  
  
"Yes?" I asked quickly.  
  
"Promise me you'll give everyone a proper goodbye before leaving this time," he said with a smile.  
  
"Of course," I replied with my own smile. 


	15. The End of the Beginning

Disclaimer: I don't own Lord of the Rings, nor any of its related material.  
  
This is my first fanfic for Lord of the Rings. Actually, this would be my first fanfic period. So anyways, enjoy the readin'!  
Also, I would like to thank Shea and Lauren for assisting me in Elven names and Sindarin translations.  
  
  
15. THE END OF THE BEGINNING  
  
  
The time had come to leave the next day. A cool breeze blew from the west, and it seemed to almost reflect the major change that was taking place in my life. Neglis also seemed deep in thought, although he looked like he was in a greater rush to leave Rivendell. True to his nature, he didn't appreciate all the stares of both elves and men, and I smiled slightly. Then I stared down at the sword lying in the new sheath upon my hip. It neither glowed nor hummed, but it filled me with a feeling that big things were in store for Neglis and I in the future. Adventure awaited us, that was for sure.  
  
Everyone now gathered around to wish us off and say goodbye. They all had solemn looks on their faces, so I did my best to outwardly display my enthusiasm in what lay ahead by smiling and the like.  
  
Shea and Lauren seemed upset that I'd be going so soon after just coming back, so I promised them I'd come back often for visits. They then both made me promise that when I did I would give them rides on Neglis. Neglis did not like the sound of that at all, and I heard him give a rather impatient huff in response. I couldn't help but grin.  
  
Legolas had stepped forward to let me know he would help me out if ever I was in a pinch (although he obviously didn't use that word). I glanced to Elrond, who was nodding slightly, and I smiled and thanked Legolas for the gesture. I couldn't help but wonder what the guy would think if I happened to save his life a second time.  
  
I also thanked Elrond himself for all the troubles I put him through and his patience. He simply smiled, wished me luck in my journeys, and told me I would always be welcome in Rivendell, as an elf-friend.  
  
Lastly, I said goodbye to Arwen and Aragorn and thanked them for all their help. I then hopped up on Neglis and waved as we took off while wishing them good fortune in the future. Neglis turned away from the group standing below and flew at full speed due east. I was surprised at the power of his wings, but I eventually came to the conclusion that the presence of the sword strengthened him, just as it did for me.  
  
Flying high above the mountains, we were both eager to discover what destiny had in store for us. Although we really had little knowledge of what would transpire in the future, I had done some planning last night as to where we would go and who we would assist as our first mission. But perhaps I shall leave that for another story…  
  
And so the tale of the dai mord had only just begun. 


End file.
